


The Change

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: Anal Sex, Gay Sex, Love, M/M, Oral Sex, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:19:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both D and Leon have been feeling strange lately. Is something going on between them? And who or what committed the horrible murder where a man is torn apart in his own home? Is it another one of D's pets? And will this be the breaking point for Leon at last?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Detective Leon Orcot looked in horror at the murder scene. The walls of the small apartment were painted with blood, which was drying in long streaks. A large puddle of blood was in the middle of the floor as well, with a heap of unidentifiable(for which he was fervently glad) body parts in the center. The rest of the murder victim was scattered around, and the man’s balding head sat obscenely on the couch and stared at him. The eye sockets were empty, and the mouth gaped open in a soundless scream of terror. But the worst part of the whole thing, the part that had sent hardened cops and even the coroner’s assistant outside to vomit, was the fact that many pieces of the pulled apart body had been…gnawed upon. 

Teeth marks could clearly be seen on one of the arms, which was lying near Leon’s feet. The blonde stared down at it, trying not to hyperventilate, his stomach doing flip-flops inside of him. What could have done THIS?! This hadn’t been a normal serial killer, that was for sure. Unless they were the fictional Hannibal Lecter, they didn’t generally eat their victims. Whoever he was would have had to be immensely strong to be able to pull a grown man apart as though he were a piece of fresh bread. And those long, jagged rips in that leg over there…were those claw marks?! Leon shuddered. He had a really bad feeling about this case. A suspicion was forming in his brain, and he hoped fervently that he was wrong. 'Please, God, let me wrong', he thought grimly. 'Please let him have nothing to do with this one.'

His partner Jill was walking carefully around the pool of blood, looking neither sick nor disturbed as she approached a side table with some papers scattered on it. She bent down, practically flashing the men in the room( she insisted on wearing extremely sexy clothing to work, although at the moment she didn’t have to worry about being ogled) as she did so. She was wearing a red mini-skirt and a sleeveless top that showed the swell of her breasts at the neckline. Leon might have lectured her about her choice of clothes, but Jill always seemed to be able to pull off stuff that would have caused other female cops to be sexually harassed at work every five seconds. He’d never been sure how she did that. 

She sorted through the papers as Leon tried not to lose his lunch at the overwhelming smell of blood and bodily waste that filled the apartment. It was early fall, and it was still hot enough that smells were magnified what seemed like ten-fold. He felt his gorge rise, and tried to take shallow panting breaths through his mouth. But it wasn’t helping. He’d have to go outside soon, or ride the technicolor rainbow. “Leon!” Jill calling his name took his mind somewhat off of his internal troubles. He looked over at her. She had a strange expression on her face as she held up a card. “You’d better see this,” she said.

He felt another twinge of apprehension as he carefully skirted the heap of remains and the lake of blood, going over to where she was standing. “What is it?” he asked, and for an answer she held out the card to him.

He took it from her fingers gingerly. He read it, and his face turned into a grim mask. This was exactly what he’d feared. The card was very plain, with black lettering. There was some elegant Chinese characters, and then under it were the words: ‘Count D’s Exotic Pet Shop, Chinatown.’ 'Damn it!' He cursed silently as he handed the card back to her. He’d so hoped…

Jill was giving him a worried look. “Leon?” she asked.

“I gotta go,” the blonde detective replied. “Can you handle the rest of this?” he asked, waving at the crime scene.

She sighed, for she knew exactly where her obsessed partner was going to go. But at the same time – they’d seen their share of ugly deaths, some of them caused by Count D’s ‘contracts’ and habit of selling EXTREMELY exotic pets to people. But this – this was BAD. If Count D had been responsible for selling whatever had caused this, and moreover it was now loose in the city…for once she could understand Leon’s anger and upset. Count D had become a friend to both of them, but this was too much. She nodded, her mouth compressing. “I can take care of it, Leon,” she assured him. “Say hello to Count D for me,” she added, and he nodded once before he left swiftly. The expression on his face did not bode well for a certain lovely Chinese pet seller, that was for sure.

 

A high-class, softly-accented voice murmured: “Here are the care instructions, my dear Mrs. Parkinson. I’m sure that you’ll find this creature to be a wonderful pet.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will!” gushed another voice as Leon stiff-armed the door of the pet shop open in a jangle of bells. He saw an older woman in a nice suit holding a cage with a silk cover over it, beaming at the delicately-lovely man standing behind the counter. As always Leon Orcot couldn’t help but admire that beauty silently, even now when he was furious with the Chinese pet seller. The man was like a porcelain vase, beautiful and perfect. The silk cheongsam he was wearing added to this impression - its black, red, and white colors gave him the look of a Ming vase today. He’d seen such a vase in a museum once, valued at almost a million dollars. 

A surprised pair of multi-colored eyes rose to meet his blue ones. “Detective,” Count D said. “How nice of you to visit me today.”

He always said that, despite the fact that they’d become friends over the last few years. Leon’s brother Chris even spent most of his time hanging out here at the shop. But the Count’s manners were exquisite, much like his face. “I need to talk to you,” the blonde man said abruptly, paying no attention to the lady who was staring at him. “Now,” he added in a tone of voice that made the shopkeeper lift his arching black brows slightly.

“Very well,” Count D replied calmly. “If you will go into my parlor, I will finish up with Mrs. Parkinson and will join you in a moment.”

Leon took a deep breath and looked like he wanted to protest, but in the end he glanced at the older woman and shrugged. “All right,” he said stonily, and strode into the parlor. 

D sighed. Leon seemed very upset about something today. He wondered about what. He hadn’t sold any of his ‘special’ pets in almost two weeks. He could only presume that there must have been a murder, and a bad one if the detective was this worked up. But…for once this was not his doing. His brows furrowed a little as he turned back to his customer. “I’m sorry about that,” he said apologetically. “The Detective is a friend.”

“That’s all right,” Mrs. Parkinson twittered. “Now about these care instructions…” 

 

Leon threw himself on the brocade couch in the parlor and sat with his arms crossed over his chest, glowering at a hanging on the far wall. He was severely not happy. Jill finding D’s card in the murder victim’s apartment had set him off. He was really, REALLY tired of having to come here to ask about dead people. Lately he’d found that he liked to come just to talk to D, to have some tea and bring the lovely shopkeeper a fancy dessert of some kind. And now that his brother was spending his days here at the shop, Leon came here even more often. He enjoyed just hanging out here, but he did NOT enjoy having to grill the Chinese man about his habit of selling nasty creatures to certain customers. He wished that he could just come here as a friend and not as a police officer. And this latest case, being so awful, was really pushing all of his buttons. He wanted to have it out with D once and for all about his selling practices. 

After a short time, the lovely dark-haired man glided into the parlor carrying a silver tray with a porcelain tea set on it. He set it on the low table between the couches before he settled himself gracefully on the other couch and looked steadily at Leon. “What is it, Detective?” He asked simply.

“There’s been a murder,” Leon growled. “A man named Ivan Hesker was torn apart in his apartment. It looks like whatever did it had fangs and claws,” he glared at D. “And Jill found a card in the apartment. A card for your shop. So just what the hell did you sell Hesker, D? I know that you’ll manage to get out of it with your iron-clad contract, but damn it, this was just…” he trailed off, looking rather sick.

Disturbed, D flicked at a strand of his shining black hair with a long nail. “Leon,” he said softly, taking the other man by surprise. D seldom used his given name, even though they’d known each other for over two years now. “I assure you that this was not of my doing. I did not sell one of my special pets to Ivan Hesker.”

Silence. Leon gaped at him. “You…But you must have!” he blurted. 

Count D shook his head slightly. “No. I have not sold anything of that nature for several weeks. Although…” he paused, tapping at his own red lips with one nail. Leon found himself staring at that finger, and his mouth suddenly felt rather dry. 

“I do seem to recall that name. Let me just look at my records,” he rose to his feet again and glided away, leaving Leon sitting on the couch feeling a tad strange and rather breathless. Just what the hell had that been?! He wondered wildly. For a moment there he’d almost wanted to replace that finger with his own mouth, to see what those luscious red lips tasted like. He put a hand to his forehead, wondering if he was getting a high fever. That could be the only explanation for his strange reaction to D lately. 

The Chinese man returned, holding a piece of paper in one hand. "It’s as I thought,” he said to the disconcerted detective. “I did, indeed, sell something to Mr. Hesker. But not a ‘special’ pet. I sold him a Pekinese, a lovely little pure bred. Did you happen to see the animal at the crime scene?” he asked anxiously. “Was it all right?”

Usually Leon would have laughed at the Chinese shopkeeper’s concern over a mere animal when a human being had been ripped to pieces, but he was too busy right now taking in the fact that D wasn’t responsible for the murder in this case. But if it wasn’t one of his nastier creatures, then what had done this? While he hadn’t been happy about the thought of one of D’s beasts tearing Hesker apart, now he was even less happy. At least a specialty pet would have easily explained the killing. This was not good. Not good at all. “No, I didn’t see a dog anywhere,” he replied absently. His face was a picture of worry.

D studied the detective’s handsome face. He’d been doing that more and more lately, and he found himself looking at Leon Orcot far more than he had ever looked at another human being. Humans, D thought, were for the most part a low species. He found their greed, callousness, and cruelty both to each other and to all of the other creatures of the Earth distasteful. He’d never cared in the least about those customers he sold his ‘special’ pets to, that was for sure. But there was something about this man…Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. The man made him feel…the man made him feel. And that in itself was a peculiar state of affairs for D. His emotions were mostly of the cool and calm variety. But whenever he was around Leon lately, they were definitely of a much warmer kind. And his body often got warm, as well, and he would feel peculiar tingles run along his limbs. A curious breathlessness accompanied these feelings, and they disturbed him so much that he often dosed himself with herbal teas to try to allay his strange response to Leon Orcot’s nearness. 

“This isn’t good, D,” Leon said, making him start. He’d been so involved with thinking about his peculiar response to Leon that he hadn’t been paying attention. The blonde shook his head grimly. “If this wasn’t your doing, I have no idea what could have ripped this guy into pieces. I’m pretty sure whatever it was, it wasn’t human,” he added.

Count D considered this. “Is there any way that you could let me see the corpse, Detective?” he asked. “Perhaps I could help you discover the nature of this creature.”

Leon brightened up a bit. D’s knowledge of animals both regular and exotic had helped him before in the past. And he needed all the help he could get in this case. “Okay, I can get you in by saying that you’re looking for your dog. But I’m warning you, D, this is a pretty ugly crime scene. I hope you have a strong stomach.”

“I think I can handle it, Detective,” Count D replied smoothly as he rose to his feet. He ran a hand down is cheongsam, a movement that ensnared Leon’s blue eyes. “I should change, however,” the shopkeeper said. “I do not wish to get blood on this.”

“Yeah, you should do that,” Leon remarked, still eyeing the cheongsam. “That’s a really pretty dress. Looks really good on you.”

Count D blinked in surprise, his mouth opening a little. He’d finally come to terms with the fact that the human detective would never refer to his clothing by its proper name. It was the fact that Leon had called his cheongsam pretty, and then complimented his appearance – he felt another streak of that strange warmth run through him, and to his astonished horror felt himself actually blushing. “I-I will return in a moment, Detective,” he said in a shaken voice, before he fled into the back and the safety of his bedroom. 

Leon stared after D, wondering what the hell that had been about. The Count had seemed flustered, a first for him. He’d always been cool and collected, never turning a hair over anything. What had just happened to make that faint tinge of color rise in his cheeks - and also to make him run away out of the room? Leon moved uncomfortably on the couch, feeling a stirring in a place where there definitely shouldn’t be one. D was the wrong sex to attract him, he reminded himself sternly. No matter how gorgeous he was, the Chinese man was still just that – a man. But no matter how much he kept repeating that mantra to himself, of late it had lost its efficacy. He cursed to himself, rubbing at his face with his hand. Between this gruesome case and his attraction to another man(and another man who was most likely a criminal, at that) Leon could see that his life was going to become even more complex and difficult than usual. Hopefully he could solve this murder and keep his distance from D at the same time, but something inside of him doubted that sincerely. 

'I should have been a highway patrolman' Leon thought as a now once again composed Count D appeared from the back wearing a black-and-gold cheongsam that wouldn’t show blood on the material. The blonde rose to his feet and led the way outside to his car, refusing to look back at the stunning creature following him. 'But no, I had to be a homicide detective.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which D figured out the potential nature of the murderer, and both Leon and D become very aware of the strange effect they're having on each other.

Unsurprisingly, D was totally unphased by the grisly nature of the crime scene. He walked with delicate grace into the room, wrinkling his nose a bit at the overwhelming odors of blood and shit that filled the small space. He pulled an embroidered handkerchief from his sleeve, and held it to his nose as he picked his way around the heaps of body parts and pools of blood. He greeted Jill with his usual exquisite manners, before turning his parti-colored eyes onto the couch where the vic's head still rested. He let them drift sideways, taking in everything there was to see. The gnawed-on limbs, ripped-apart torso, and the distinct claw marks on some of the pieces. Leon stood and watched him, wondering what was going on behind those eyes as the Count gazed at the hideous crime scene without turning a hair. 

“Interesting,” D commented thoughtfully. 

“What?” Leon and Jill both said almost at the same time.

“Although the body has been chewed on a bit, there do not seem to be any pieces missing entirely. Which means whatever creature did this did not kill Mr. Hesker to devour him. Moreover, the eyes seem to have been deliberately removed. That is the sign of an intelligent, albeit insane being. No animal predator would cut out the eyes specifically, without also eating the intestines, heart, liver or kidneys. And those are all still here, as you can see,” he waved a long red nail at said organs, which were scattered about the room. But he was right, Leon thought. An animal would have eaten those tender bits first and foremost. That raised a nasty question. 

“Are you saying that a human being did this, D?!” he blurted out, appalled. 

“Not an ordinary human being, Detective,” the Chinese man replied simply. At both of the detectives' stares, he shrugged elegantly. “Might I suggest a variety of lycanthrope as your culprit, Detectives?”

Leon gave him a blank stare, but Jill gasped. Her eyes were wide. “You can't be serious, Count!” she cried.

“What'd I miss here?” her partner demanded somewhat irritably. “What the hell is a lycanthrope?”

Jill made an impatient sound. “If you watched more horror movies, Leon, instead of porn,” she said caustically, “You'd know that a lycanthrope is a shapeshifter,” at his continuing blank stare, she snorted. “A werewolf,” she clarified.

Leon blinked. “I didn't just hear that,” he said, hitting himself lightly upside the head. “So you're saying that a werewolf ripped this guy apart?” he asked D in disbelief.

The Chinese shopkeeper shook his head slightly. “That is not what I am saying, Detective,” he replied calmly.

“Well that's good, since I'd have hated to have to have you fitted for a white jacket with buckles on the back.”

“A wolf is only one of the forms of a lycanthrope. There are many other forms of were beasts. Most are predators, but not all,” D went on as though Leon hadn't just spoken. 

The blonde gaped at him, stunned. While he had gotten used to the weirdness of D's shop in general and the man himself in particular, he just could not believe what the Chinese animal seller was saying this time. Werewolves? Those were the stuff of bad Hollywood horror films, not real things running around L.A. killing people. 

“You seriously expecting me to buy this, D?” he asked after a short, stunned silence.

D sighed. “Of course not, Detective,” he replied caustically. “I know what a low tolerance you have for the fantastic.”

Jill giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Her eyes twinkled above that hand as Leon eyed the lovely Chinese man and wondered if he'd just been insulted. He suspected that he had, and that his partner understood the diss even if he didn't. Sourly he frowned at them both. “Well, if that's the best you can come up with, D, I'll take you home,” he said shortly. 

“Of course, Detective. Just let me look around and see what has become of little Cheng Tze.”

It took Leon a second to realize that he was talking about the Pekinese that he'd sold Hesker. Count D turned away from the body and padded lightly over to the narrow hallway that led to the bathroom and single bedroom. “Cheng Tze?” he called in a wheedling tone of voice. “Are you here? Come out now.”

Leon and Jill exchanged glances, then followed him. They didn't want him to mess up any evidence there might be in one of the other rooms. He went first to the bathroom door, but there was no sign of the dog when he opened it. He turned away to the bedroom door instead, but that room was empty as well. He was starting to look disturbed, for they had neither seen any sign of the Pekinese nor heard any barking. This did not bode well for the little dog, and Leon knew how hard it would be on D if whatever had butchered Hesker(not a werewolf, he thought determinedly. Definitely not) had stomped the little furball into a rug while it was doing so. He'd expected a little doggy corpse in the bedroom, but no dice. 

“Oh, dear,” D said unhappily. “What could have happened to him?”

“Maybe the killer dognapped him,” Leon replied dryly. 

D's hand flew to his mouth. His two-tone eyes were wide. “Do you think so?” he nearly whispered in distress.

Leon rolled his eyes as Jill said soothingly, “No that's not what Leon thinks, Count D. He's just being sarcastic.”

“But if the killer did not take Cheng Tze, then where is he?” D asked in bafflement. Jill spread her hands helplessly.

The blonde was starting to feel irritated by this hysteria over a yappy little furball. “Well, if the killer didn't take it he probably ate it,” he growled. 

That had been the wrong thing to say. D went even paler than normal, his eyes huge and anguished, and began to sway in place. Leon had to rush forward to catch him, feeling utterly remorseful for his unthinkingly callous remark. Jill gave him a glance that should have removed whole layers of his skin for upsetting poor D. The Chinese man whimpered faintly. “Jesus, Leon, good job,” Jill snarled. “You'd better take him home and look after him, if you think you can do that without making any more comments like that last one.”

 

Leon shot her a harassed look. “I'm sorry, Jill,” he said as he began to steer the still wavering D out the door of the bedroom. 

She snorted. “You surely are at that, Leon,” she agreed. “I'll finish up here. Take good care of him,” she added sternly, a warning in her voice. He knew that if he didn't, he'd have overprotective Momma Jill breathing down his neck. And there was nothing scarier, not even the animals in D's shop. 

 

 

Leon drove the Chinese man back to the shop and helped him in the door. He tried very hard not to think about the slender body under the black-and-gold cheongsam, or to imagine how very lovely it must be. Not that this worked very well. Of late he'd been thinking far too much about that body, and the face that went with it. Not to mention the alien mind that lived behind those peculiar but beautiful gold-and-purple eyes. Far too often he had to catch himself up sharply whenever he got the urge to touch or kiss D, and remind himself that he was a heterosexual, damn it - and he intended to remain that way! It didn't help this time that he was so close to D, because the other man was half-leaning against him for support, and he could see just how creamy that pale skin looked. And how kissable those lips really were. Not to mention the tiny ear he could see peeping out of the silky black hair...'Oh man, this is not good,' he thought grimly as he took D into his parlor and settled him on the couch.

He stepped back, aware that he was sweating a bit, and breathing rather heavily as well. “Listen, D,” he said in a voice that was lower than it normally was. He cleared his throat heavily before he continued: “I'm really sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have just blurted that out. I'm sorry that I upset you.”

D shook his head slightly as he reclined against the back of the couch. “That's all right, Detective,” he replied sadly. “I'm afraid that your hypothesis as to dear Cheng Tze's fate is correct. Poor little thing,” he lifted a hand to his forehead, and once again Leon reflected on the fact that the Chinese man cared far more for the fate of an annoying yappy dog than he did for the ripped-apart Hesker. The man's priorities were all screwed up, he thought with a mental shake of his head. 

“Can I do anything for you?” he asked aloud. “Get you some tea or something?” 

D looked horrified at the thought of the blonde detective let loose in his kitchen in an attempt to make tea. “No, that's all right, Detective,” he replied hurriedly. “Although I would very much like some more of those éclairs that you brought me the other day,” he added, seeing that Leon looked rather crestfallen at his tone and the expression on his face.

“Okay,” the blonde said, perking up at having something to actually do. “I'll be back in a while,” he left to fetch the éclairs, leaving D sitting on his couch staring off into space with a strange expression on his face. There was something...odd happening to him lately, D thought. Something to do with the big blonde homicide detective who'd just left his shop. He frowned. It wasn't just his physical reaction to Leon, although that was unprecedented. Whenever he was around the detective lately he felt as though Leon filled all of his senses to the exclusion of all else. As though there were nothing else in the world but Leon Orcot, at least not for him. He was disturbed by, and more than a tad scared of, this peculiar reaction. Moreover, he could sense odd changes taking place within himself. It was as though parts of himself were...rearranging within him. For what reason these changes were taking place, he had no notion whatsoever. But most if not all of them seemed to be linked to his reaction to Leon Orcot, which he found worrisome to the extreme. 

He was out of his element here. He needed someone to advise and counsel him, someone else who also came from the same unique race that he did. Someone who could perhaps explain these changes to him. It was time to summon his grandfather. Sofu D was away at the moment, visiting with some of their relatives. But he would surely return if D summoned him urgently enough. D felt that this was an important matter, important enough to drag his grandfather away from the family members who he didn't always like that much anyway. 

He got slowly to his feet. He was still a tad dizzy from both distress and something else he couldn't quite explain. But his legs firmed up under him after a moment, and he glided out into the hallway and down into the pet shop itself. The animals stirred when he entered the rooms, making soft chittering or yelping or growling sounds in greeting. T-Chan was sitting curled up on his bed, but he got nimbly to his feet as D came in. “What's up with you?” he asked, eyeing the Kami interestedly.

“I must communicate with Grandfather,” D replied calmly as he went over to a small glass tank and opened the top. 

“Why?” T-Chan asked as he clattered up behind D on his small, neat hooves. 

“There is something I have to ask him,” D said as he extracted a strange-looking insect from the long grass at the bottom of the tank. He lifted his finger with the insect perched on it, its wings opening and closing. It looked like a large beetle, but its wings could have been made out of stained glass. It made a soft whirring noise that almost sounded like a question. 

He breathed on it softly then spoke for some time to it. T-Chan looked impatient, but he knew better than to interrupt D. The slim man carried the insect out to the front of the shop, carefully opening the front door. He walked outside on the pavement, then lifted his hand slowly. The insect buzzed for a moment, then shot up into the air like a bullet. D watched it go, feeling a strong sense of relief. Surely Sofu D could explain all of this to him. He turned back into the shop to wait for Leon's return, and to answer T-Chan's questions as best he could. Not that he'd be able to tell the goat boy much. Not when he himself knew so little about whatever was happening between himself and Leon Orcot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D learns about what's ailing him, and also what the only cure is...

Leon plunged out the door of the bakery and into the afternoon heat, feeling sweat spring out on his skin almost immediately. He wanted to get to his car as quickly as possible, and turn the air conditioning on. Not just for his own comfort, but to keep the éclairs he was carrying in a white paper sack from half-melting. D would turn up his elegant nose at them if he did allow that to happen. And for some reason he couldn’t quite explain, Leon liked to keep the Chinese shopkeeper (and most likely criminal) happy. 

He dove into his car, grimacing at how hot the upholstery was, and quickly started the engine as he set the white bag gingerly on the passenger seat. He turned on the air conditioning full blast, and sat with the engine running while the a/c began to fill the car with cool air. He frowned a little as he thought about just why he worked so hard to please the mysterious owner of the Chinatown pet shop, who he could end up arresting at any time if he ever caught D breaking the law. Although it seemed that the beautiful creature was as clever as he was lovely, for Leon had so far never found a trace of evidence to link D to any wrongdoing. 

He moved uneasily in his seat as thinking about just how pretty D was made his groin stir to life. Damn it! This was becoming insane. Lately, no matter how many times he reminded himself sharply that the Chinese man was just that – a MAN, it didn’t help at all. He’d considered just staying away from D as much as possible until this weird reaction passed, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He was drawn to the shop (and its owner) as surely as a piece of steel was to a lodestone. He’d find himself outside the shop with no real memory of how or why he’d ended up there, and this loss of memory was even more disturbing than his sudden and overwhelming attraction to D. 

He’d considered just asking the Count if he knew what was causing this, but he’d just as quickly discarded the notion. After all, to ask D about it meant he’d have to admit his attraction out loud to the person whom he was attracted to. This was a rather horrifying notion that made his balls try to draw up into their sac whenever he even contemplated it. There was no way in hell that he was going to do that. He’d rather shoot himself deliberately in the foot. The blonde sighed as he pulled away from the curb in front of the bakery. He didn’t have any idea what to do about this, so for now he’d just pretend it didn’t exist. 

 

 

D sipped at his tea slowly as he explained what he could about his strange condition to Tot-Chan. The goat boy was curled up at his feet, and there was a frown on his face. He scratched at his woolly head as the Kami finished, looking puzzled. “Are you sure that your grandfather will know what’s going on?” he asked.

D shook his raven-black head. “No,” he replied. “But since I have no notion whatsoever about what this might be, I thought it wisest to consult with him. If he doesn’t know then we have lost nothing, but I am hopeful that he does. He has extensive knowledge of our bodies and the illnesses that can affect them.”

Tot-Chan looked alarmed. “Illnesses? Are you sick, D?” he yelped.

D made comforting motions with his slim hands. “No, no. I don’t believe so anyway. This doesn’t feel like any kind of illness. What I meant to say is that Grandfather also understands Kami biological processes. This might be normal for us.”

“Oh,” the goat-boy looked relieved, but also still a bit worried. “How long do you think it’ll take him to get back here?” he asked. 

The Kami shook his head. “I do not know. A few days at most.”

“I’ll be glad when he gets here,” Tot-Chan said, his forehead wrinkled.

D sighed. “As will I, Tot-Chan,” he agreed.

 

Leon noticed that D was quiet, and looked rather pale. He studied the Chinese man’s face as he sat on the brocade couch, seeing that the Count also seemed rather tired. “You okay, D?” He asked abruptly.

 

The black-haired man almost spilled his tea when he jerked in surprise at this sudden question. He blinked at Leon, looking rather disconcerted, before he managed to regain his normal poise. “Yes, I’m fine, Detective,” he assured the blonde in his slightly-lilting English. 

“You sure? You look kinda pale,” the detective said. Then he paused before adding: “Paler than normal, I mean.”

D looked like he was considering getting offended at this remark. “I assure you that I am well, Detective. Perhaps I am merely feeling the affects of seeing that crime scene earlier. It was quite gruesome.”

Leon lifted his brows, but chose to accept this explanation for now. Never mind that D had never shown the slightest unease or queasiness at any other crime scene before this, no matter how gruesome they’d been…

“All right,” he said aloud. “I’ve gotta get back to the scene or Jill will have my ass in a sling. Not to mention the Chief. Thanks for the tea,” he said as he got to his feet.

D set his cup on its saucer. “And thank you for the éclairs, Detective,” he replied with his usual exquisite manners. “They were delicious.”

Leon looked at the empty china plate that had once held the éclairs. He supposed that there couldn’t be too much wrong with D if he was still scarfing desserts with such enthusiasm. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow when I drop off Chris, okay?”

“Of course. Until tomorrow, Detective,” D rose to his feet and held out his hand to Leon. The blonde looked at it almost fearfully, before he grabbed it and shook it hurriedly. Then he dropped it as though it were a hot potato, before he mumbled a final farewell and darted out of the shop.

D watched him flee with a sigh. It seemed that Detective Orcot was just as affected by this strange set of circumstances, for the man had been acting very peculiar whenever he was around D lately. He wondered if Leon felt the same way that he did. Did the human feel the same tingles running down his arm whenever they touched? Did he get breathless and too warm? Like Leon himself, D was too embarrassed and horrified by the thought of actually asking the detective to do so. He would keep his peace until he’d spoken to Sofu, and hopefully then some mysteries would be cleared up for him. 

 

 

Leon dropped Chris off in front of the shop the next morning, refusing to even come in. This was rude, but D understood just how confused and strange the human had to be feeling around him now - for he felt the same way whenever he got within ten feet of Leon Orcot. He was actually glad to see that the human detective had merely stopped to let his brother get out of the car before driving off to work. He opened the door of the shop to admit the blonde boy, smiling in greeting at him. “Good morning, Chris,” he said, and the boy grinned in return. 

'Good morning, D,' the boy thought.

D waved an elegant hand at the back of the shop. “T-Chan is waiting for you,” he said, and the boy scurried off to see his friend happily. The goat-boy and the human child were very close, and would mostly likely spend a lot of the day romping together. D returned to his morning tea, and was just about to take a sip when Chris darted back through the door of the sitting room.

'I almost forgot.' he said as he handed the Count a white paper bag. 'Leon gave this to me for you,' he left just as hurriedly as he’d come, while the Kami opened the bag and found four raspberry-and-clotted-cream pastries within. The flaky crusts were heavy with butter, and they smelled wonderful. D smiled a little, dreamily, at the thought that Leon had specifically bought these for him even though the detective was currently avoiding him personally. He ate the pastries with relish, feeling them practically melt on his tongue. How, he wondered idly as he licked crumbs off of his mouth, did the man who subsisted mostly on beer and pizza know just what kind of sweets to buy D? It was a mystery.

The doorbell jangled, and he got gracefully to his feet to go and attend to his first customer of the morning. As he pushed through the beads that hung in the doorway between the sitting room and the main counter, he heard a familiar voice speaking. “Hello, child. I came as quickly as I could.”

His grandfather, Sofu D, was shedding his cloak near the doorway so that he could hang it on the coat rack. D put a hand to his breast in relief. “Grandfather,” he said happily. “I didn’t expect you so soon. I thought it would take you at least a day to get my message.”

Sofu sniffed “I wasn’t as far away as you think, child. I’d returned as far as Chicago, and was spending some time with my friend Han Tsu. He owns a greenhouse and garden shop there now.”

“Oh,” D said in comprehension. “I didn’t know that.”

Sofu nodded, turning his golden gaze on his grandchild. “Yes, so your messenger found me pretty quickly. Tell me, child…what is ailing you? I was concerned by your message, which wasn’t very specific.”

“Come into the sitting room and I’ll tell you,” D said.

The man who looked like a carbon copy of his grandchild, except for the fact that both of his eyes were golden, nodded and followed the slim figure as D led the way back into the sitting room. They sat down on either side of the table, and the Count poured his grandfather a cup of tea. Sofu sipped it as D began to slowly tell him all about the strange things happening to him lately. The other Kami frowned in concentration as he listened. When D was done, he set his cup on the table as he gave his grandson a direct look. “Well, it's about time,” he said, startling D.

“What?” The young Kami asked in puzzlement. “What do you mean, Grandfather?”

Sofu shook his head. “This is perfectly normal, child,” he said calmly. “What is happening to you. You’ve simply reached the age when a young Kami goes into puberty, that’s all.”

Silence. D stared at him with slightly wide eyes. “Puberty?” He repeated as though he’d never heard the word before. 

Sofu nodded again. “Yes. It's as simple as that. Your body is coming awake, just as young animals' do. It’s natural and welcome, even to we Kami. Don’t be afraid of it.”

“Oh!” D said, looking relieved. “I’m so glad! I thought there was something very wrong with me. Especially with the way that I’ve been reacting to Detective Orcot lately…”

Sofu sat up suddenly, looking like a terrier seeing a rat. “What?” he said sharply. “What do you mean, the way you've been reacting to Detective Orcot?”

D looked puzzled by his grandfather’s reaction to his statement. “Well, it's just that whenever I have these feelings, they’re always when I’m near Leon. And they get stronger the longer I’m around him. I suppose that just means that now that I’m coming into my sexual maturity, I’m becoming attracted to him physically.”

Sofu had gone rather pale. “Oh, my,” he said softly, sounding not at all happy.

“What is it, Grandfather?” D asked, feeling rather alarmed now. 

“Are you sure that it is ONLY Detective Orcot who makes you feel this way, child?” The older Kami asked urgently.

D nodded slowly. “Yes. Why?”

Sofu rubbed at his forehead and muttered to himself. “And has Detective Orcot shown signs of being attracted to you, too?” He asked in a tone of voice that indicated that he was hoping that his grandson would say no.

“I...think so, yes,” D said. “He didn’t even come in this morning, merely dropped his brother off, because he seems very jumpy and nervous around me lately.”

“Not good,” Sofu said. He lifted his hands as though asking the universe for answers. “Why him?” He said. Sofu was not extremely fond of the blonde human.

“Grandfather!” D said, losing his patience. “What is going on?!”

The golden eyes leveled a look at him. “I assumed this was just you entering puberty, child,” he said rather grimly, “But I’m afraid that its more than that. In rare cases, we Kami will meet the person or being who is destined to be our mate for life. When that happens, our bodies begin to initiate changes so that we might bond with that other person permanently. That is what you have been feeling lately, the odd changes that are taking place within you. You are preparing yourself to bond with Leon Orcot.”

Shock. D gaped at him silently, disbelief clear on his face. “B-but…how can this be?!” he blurted. “And why did you never tell me about this before, Grandfather?”

Sofu lifted his shoulders. “As I said, these bonds are rare. I’ve never gone through one, as I’ve never found the person I wanted to mate with. Neither has your father. That you found one even before you entered puberty is astounding. But the fact that you only seem to be attracted to Detective Orcot is significant. You get a fair amount of eligible people of many different races and both sexes into this shop, but you have never felt this for anyone else, have you?”

Again that hopeful tone. But D shook his head. “No,” he said numbly. “Only Leon.”

Sofu ran a hand through his glossy hair. “Have you been feeling tired for the last few weeks? Low on energy? Listless?”

“Yes, to all,” D replied. “I thought I might be coming down with something.”

“You’ve come down with something, all right,” his grandfather muttered. “I’m very sorry to say this, child,” he said dryly, “But I’m afraid that there can be no other explanation. You will bond with Leon Orcot, and very soon if I don’t miss my guess.”

“But…” D trailed off, then waved a hand in the air. “How will Leon take this news?” He asked. “It’s taken him forever just to accept the strange nature of my shop. How will he react when I tell him that I’m not human? And that he’s meant to be my mate? Wait a moment,” he said as something in his grandfather’s words occurred to him, “Mate for life? Whose life, Grandfather ? Mine or his?”

Sofu smiled faintly. “A good question. And the answer is: Yours. Once you are bonded, Leon will grow as long-lived as you are. He will only die when you do, not a moment before.”

D felt a chill. “I don’t think he’ll accept that, Grandfather,” he said, shivering.

Sofu’s face became grim. “He’d better do so,” he said in a voice that cut like a knife.

“Why?” D asked, the chill increasing.

Sofu’s face was hard. “Because he has no choice. Or should I say, because YOU have no choice. If Leon Orcot does not accept the bond, and it is not completed, then you will go into decline,” seeing D’s blank face, he took a deep breath before he went on: “You will die, child. You will die. The thwarted bond will consume your body.”

D’s cup fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers, hitting the rug and spilling tea onto it. For once, he simply didn’t care. He was imagining trying to tell Leon Orcot that he had to be D’s mate for life(and a lifespan that would mean that he would outlive all of his family and friends by centuries), and fear rushed through him. He didn’t want to die. He really didn’t. But he just couldn’t see someone like Leon actually accepting this whole situation. Unless… “Will Leon die as well?” he asked, sounding distant and hollow.

Sofu was silent for a moment. Then he said: “No. He is not Kami. It is not his body initiating the bond. I’m sorry, child,” he added, for he understood that D had been hoping to use the threat of imminent death to make the detective accept the bond whether he liked it or not. 

D bowed his head a little as his hands knotted tightly together in his lap. “So am I, Grandfather,” he whispered. “So am I.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon does not respond well to D's news

D ventured into the police department with his heart in his throat. He would have preferred to avoid Leon Orcot right now, just as the detective was avoiding him. But he couldn’t do that. He had no choice but to tell the blonde human everything, because he had to find a way to get Leon to accept the mating bond voluntarily. Sofu had said that there was no way to force the detective into it; he had to want to be bonded with D. Otherwise the bond would not be complete and D would begin to waste away. 

Sweat slicked his palms as he emerged from the elevator into the homicide department. The Kami was nervous and almost sick with fear that Leon would either reject this entire story entirely, or even if he did believe it wouldn’t want to enter into a bond with D that would lengthen his life for many centuries. But he forced himself to walk proudly between the desks toward the one that Leon and his partner Jill shared, because he wasn’t a coward. Moreover, this was a matter of true life or death for him. If he couldn’t convince Leon Orcot to share his life as D’s bonded mate, then he would have no more life to live soon. And he did not want to die. Not yet, not so young by his people’s standards. 

And the truth was, he thought silently as he came up to the wooden desk where he could see Leon’s blonde head bent over some paperwork, that D truly did like Leon Orcot. Maybe even more than that. If he had to have a mate for life, he could think of none better than the homicide detective. Unfortunately he was afraid that the human wouldn’t think the same way about him. But a Kami had to try. “Good afternoon, Detective,” he said aloud, making Leon nearly jump out of his chair. A blonde head whipped around, and he found himself staring into a rather wide pair of blue eyes. 

“D!” Leon said, sounding not very happy to see him at all. “What are you doing here? Is there something wrong with Chris?!” he asked urgently, rising from his chair.

D made soothing motions with his hands. “No, of course not, Detective. Your brother is fine. My grandfather is watching him. I came here to speak with you about something, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Leon looked both relieved and also rather nervous about this statement. “Well, I’ve got a ton of paperwork…” he said, waving at his desk. “Can this wait?”

D winced internally at the hopeful tone of his voice. The Kami shook his glossy black head. “No, I’m afraid not, Detective. This is extremely important. And private,” he added, looking around at the half-full squad room.

Leon’s shoulders tensed visibly. “Okay,” he said, sounding resigned. “Come into one of the empty interrogation rooms with me,” he said, leading the way across the room.

D sighed, but followed him silently. He was not looking forward to the coming ‘interview’ any more than the human detective was. But he had no choice, none whatsoever. According to Sofu, the bond would begin to initiate itself any day now. He didn’t have much time left in which to convince Leon Orcot that it would be a good thing if he accepted this mating bond with a certain Chinese Kami. It seemed a Herculean task if he ever thought about it, so he tried hard not to. 

 

 

Leon shoved the door of the interview room open and walked over to the plain wooden table. He pulled out a chair for D, a gallant gesture that touched the other man greatly. He smiled a bit at the detective, which caused Leon to feel too warm and more than a bit squirmy. He himself deliberately took a chair on the other side of the table, as far from D as he could get and still be in the room. “So…uh…what’d you want to talk to me about?” he croaked, and if he’d had a collar he would have been pulling at it by now. 

The Chinese shopkeeper hesitated. His eyelids fell to hide his parti-colored eyes as he began slowly: “I have so much to tell you, Detective, that I barely know where to begin. So I shall just do so and hope that you will hear me out and try to keep an open mind.”

Leon wasn’t sure that he liked the sound of this. He stared at that lovely face, seeing the tightening of the mouth and the way D’s hands were twisted tightly together in front of him. The Chinese man was nervous about something. Very nervous. Finally D sighed softly and said as bluntly as he could: “I am not human, Leon.”

Silence. The blonde stared blankly at the other man. “What do you mean, you’re not human?” he asked in the voice of a man not quite believing his ears. 

D’s shoulders hunched a little. “My people are called Kami in our native land,” he said. “What we are…some might call us spirits, or gods. We have had many names and designations. Suffice it to say that we are not quite like you humans. We live much longer than you do, for example. I am…” he lifted his eyes briefly to Leon’s. “I am over a thousand years old, Detective. And I am simply a youth among my people, a person just coming out of childhood. I believe the word among you humans is ‘teenager’ for the phase of life I am in at the moment.”

Leon gaped at him. Of all the things he would have expected, it wasn’t this. D had never seemed insane to him, but somewhere the Chinese shopkeeper had clearly gone a couple of bundles short of a full load. “Uh-huh,” he said, and it was clear from his tone that he thought that D was crazier than a rat in a tin shithouse. 

The Kami cringed. This was already not going well, as he’d feared it might not. “I can prove that I am not human, Leon, even if I cannot prove my real age,” he replied.

Leon’s brows lifted. “Oh?” he said, wondering just how D was going to accomplish this magic trick. 

The Chinese shopkeeper sighed again. He lifted a hand to his hair, and extracted an enamelled hair pin deftly. Then he slid up one of the sleeves of his cheongsam, baring a delicate pale wrist to Leon’s sight. The detective felt a stirring in his groin, in spite of the fact that he now thought that the Chinese man was looney tunes. He wanted to growl at his own weakness as D poised the sharp ends of the pin over his wrist. “What are you doing?” Leon blurted, belatedly realizing that the shopkeeper meant to stab himself with the pin.

“Proving that what I just told you is true,” D replied simply, before he plunged the pin into his skin hard. 

Leon cried out, his chair hitting the floor as he lunged to his feet. D made a soft sound of pain as the pin jabbed into him, then he pulled it free. Dark red blood welled from the wound, and began to run down his porcelain skin. Leon ran over to grab the emergency kit off the wall. “Damn it, D, what the hell is wrong with you!” he yelled as he hurried back to the table. “What if you’d hit a vein? You really have lost it!”

The Kami had placed his hand over the wound. He looked up at the approaching blonde calmly. “I think not,” he said. Then he lifted his hand away, and Leon came to a screeching halt as he stared incredulously down at the Chinese man’s arm. 

There was no puncture wound. No wound at all, not even a scar. The skin was unbroken. But he knew that it had actually been there, for blood was drying in long trails across the white skin. But the place where those trails had originated was as smooth and perfect as the skin around it. D stared up at him, holding up his arm. “Do you believe me now, Leon?” he asked quietly.

The blonde groped for a chair and sat down hurriedly before his legs buckled. “How did you do that?” he asked numbly.

D looked at his own arm in a clinically-detached manner. “We heal very fast, and only a very serious wound would not close up right away. It is one of the physical traits of being a Kami, and the one I knew would convince you the quickest. If I had been human, Detective, I would still be bleeding.”

Leon ran a hand through his hair distractedly. “I… this is too weird, D. I mean, I knew you were odd – and some of the things you sell people are really bizarre. But to find out that you’re not even human…”

“I’m sorry, Leon,” D said contritely. “But in this case, I had no choice but to convince you of my true nature. It is essential to what I am going to tell you next.”

The hairs tried to stand up on the back of Leon’s neck. “Why do I have the feeling that I’m not going to like this at all?” he said to the air.

D shifted in his chair. “I don’t particularly like it either, Detective, but as I said I have no alternative. It has to do with Kami physiology,” he began, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the next explanation. “I am just now entering puberty, coming into my sexual maturity.” His face heated a little as he suddenly became interested in his own long red nails. “And I…Lately I have felt when I am around you…” he trailed off, refraining from squirming in embarrassment only with an effort.

Leon gulped. So D had been feeling the same thing that he had? This was not good. But D continued desperately: “I thought it was merely my body awakening, but my Grandfather says that it is much more than just the effects of puberty. He told me that my people occasionally form a lifebond with another person or being. Sometimes it is two Kamis who mate, but at other times it can be those of another species. Such as humans,” he added, looking across the table at the befuddled Leon. “This bond is irrevocable once it has formed, and the mated pair remain that way for the rest of their lives. Or at least, for the rest of the longer-lived partner’s life, that is. What I mean to say is this, Detective. If you choose to accept this bond that is trying to form between us, you would gain my lifespan. You would live as long as I do.”

Leon felt like his brain was turning to mush in his head. He could barely take in the fact that the lovely man sitting across from him wasn’t even human. This whole bit about some kind of ‘mating bond’ was beyond him. Seeing how confused he was, D searched desperately for some way to explain it better. “Some animals mate for life,” he started, “Such as wolves and swans. If one of the mated pair dies the other does not take another mate. It is very similar to this situation. If we become mated, we will be that way for the rest of our lives. Neither you nor I will ever be attracted to another person or being again. We will have eyes only for each other. And you will die only when I die, which could be many centuries from now.”

Leon’s mouth opened and closed as he struggled to take in such an alien concept. “I…this is crazy, D! I don’t even like guys!” he said, spreading his hands in front of him helplessly. “But now you’re telling me that I’m supposed to, what? Mate with you or something? You have got to be kidding!”

D closed his eyes. This was not going well, just as he’d suspected it might not. “I know how hard this is for you to understand, Leon,” he said, struggling not to just get down on his knees and beg the blonde human to go along with this whether he understood it or not. “But it is true. My body is going through changes, changes which will help me bond to you when the time comes. My grandfather says that that time will be soon. When it does start to initiate the bond, you will have to willingly accept it. Otherwise it will not be completed.”

“You mean if I say no, this whole thing won’t happen?” Leon asked hopefully. 

D jerked as though struck, but replied tonelessly, “Yes. That is right.” 

“Well, then, why are you even telling me about this?” the human said impatiently. “I don’t like guys, D. But now you’re telling me I should be mated to one for centuries to come? Why would I want to do that? I mean, I like you and all, but…”

D stared down at his tightly clasped hands. He shuddered faintly. He knew that he should tell Leon that his choice was a fatal one for the Kami, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. If he told Leon that, and he guilted the human into accepting the bond against his will, would they be a happily mated pair afterward? Or would the human always feel bitter and angry, blaming D for corralling him into something he hadn’t really wanted to do? While he didn’t want to die, he also didn’t want to spend centuries with an angry, miserable Leon Orcot. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the Kami made his decision.

“You’re right, Detective,” he said quietly, his voice trembling a little as he fought back tears. “Absolutely right. I shouldn’t have bothered you,” he rose blindly to his feet, his body shaking, and his hand balled into fists at his sides. His nails cut into the skin of his palms, but he didn’t care at this moment. The pain actually helped to center him a little.

Leon blinked. The expression on the Chinese man’s(no, no, Kami’s)face was that of a person preparing to go to his execution. “You okay, D?” he asked worriedly, rising to his own feet. 

D nodded, once. “I’m fine, Detective,” he replied in a hollow-sounding voice. 

“If you’re sure…" Leon said uncertainly. “I’ll see you when I come to pick Chris up, okay?”

D made an assenting gesture with one hand. “Of course,” he said dully. “I will see you then,” he paused, looking the blonde in the eye. “Now that you know that I am not human, Detective, will you stop bringing Chris to the shop?”

Leon hesitated, staring at D. He thought about what the Kami had said, and he also thought about how happy Chris was at D’s shop. Moreover, whether D was human or not they had become friends. He didn’t want to give that up just because the Chinese shopkeeper wasn’t of the same species as he was. “No,” he replied aloud. “I’ll still bring him. I don’t care that you’re…whatever you are, you’re still a good guy. You don’t stop being friends with somebody because they’re not human, anymore than I’d stop being friends with a guy just because he told me he was gay or something.”

D managed a tremulous smile. He lowered his lids so that the blonde would not see the sheen of tears in his eyes. “Thank you, Detective,” he husked. “You are very kind. I must be going now, I will see you tonight.” 

He turned away, blunderingly, and Leon watched him leave the interrogation room. The human was very worried about the Kami, for D walked like a man who’d become brittle. As though he’d shatter if somebody touched him right now. He had the uneasy feeling that he’d done something wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. He scratched at his head, wondering if he might be able to get out of D what was bothering the other man. His cop instincts told him that it would be very important that he do so. And those instincts had been keeping Leon Orcot alive for years, so he always made sure to follow them. He’d badger whatever was bothering him out of D later, when they’d both calmed down a bit. For now he had to get back to work. He had a ton of paperwork to finish, whether he liked it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Leon realize what's happening in time to save D's life?

D walked into his shop, halting to stand near the doorway with a hand to his mouth. He was breathing heavily, as faint tremors wracked his form. Sofu D, who had come out of the sitting room when the bell rang, hurried over to his grandson with a look of anxiety on his face. “Child? What is it? What happened?” he asked in concern.

D shook his head slowly. “Grandfather,” he said. “I want you to promise me something.” 

“What?” the older Kami put a hand on his grandson’s arm urgently. “What is it?”

D took a deep, hard breath. “Leon does not wish to bond with me willingly,” he said from between his slender fingers. “And I do not wish to acquire a mate by means of trickery or force. I will not guilt him into bonding with me, Grandfather. I want you to promise me that you will not tell him that I will die if he does not accept this bond. Please. I could not stand to live with a Leon Orcot who hates me, Grandfather. I just could not.”

Sofu stared at his grandson in shock as tears began to wend their way down D’s porcelain cheeks. He had not realized that the younger Kami had already given his heart away to the blonde human detective, even before his body began to initiate the desire to bond with Leon as well. That soft, tender heart would be his grandson’s undoing, for if he did not tell Leon Orcot that he would die without the bond he would surely succumb in a very short time. And yet…the anguish in the parti-colored eyes made his stomach churn. He didn’t want to lose his precious grandchild, but he also did not want to go behind D’s back and force this issue. Caught between a rock and hard place, he sighed and said softly: “I promise, child. I will not tell Leon Orcot of the outcome of this situation should he not accept the bond.”

D swayed a little. “Thank you, Grandfather,” he whispered, and the older Kami shook his head in frustration as he took D’s elbow and began to steer him into the sitting room. 

“I will go along with this(for now),” he said, “But I am not happy, child. You care too much for the feelings of that human.”

D laughed, a rather harsh sound, as he sat down on the couch under his grandfather’s urging. “He is meant to be my mate for life, Grandfather,” he pointed out as he rested his head against the back of the couch. “How could I not care for his feelings?”

Sofu sighed as he left the room to make some tea. His grandson was immensely stubborn, and he was very much afraid that that trait would finally be his undoing this time. He tried to push away his fear, but it would not be banished. What was he to do now?

 

Leon Orcot stopped his car in front of the pet shop. He took a deep breath, trying to work up the courage to go into the place and collect his brother. Plus, he wanted to talk to D, even if he would have avoided it if he could. He was worried about the Chinese man (Kami), remembering the way he’d looked and moved this afternoon at the police station. His instincts were still clamoring at him, so he finally managed to gather himself and got out of his car. He pushed his way through the door of the shop reluctantly. At first he thought that it was D standing behind the counter, but even as he opened his mouth to greet the Chinese shopkeeper the other man lifted his head and Leon saw a cold pair of golden eyes lock with his. They narrowed, and the full red mouth thinned to a hard line. Sofu D frankly looked like he wanted to do something awful to Leon. The detective wondered why, for while D’s grandfather had never really liked him that much right now he looked homicidal. 

“Ummm” he said. "How ya doing, Sofu?”

The golden eyes were shooting daggers of fire at him now. “I am fine, Detective,” he said in an arctic voice that was the polar opposite of the blazing golden gaze. 

“Uhh…that’s good. I came to get Chris, but I also wanted to talk to D. Is he around?”

“He is in the sitting room,” Sofu replied stonily. “I shall fetch your brother for you while you speak with him,” he glided away, his body language screaming rage. Rage at Leon. The blonde wondered just what he’d done to make the older Kami so mad at him. 

He shook his head and pushed between the strings of beads into the sitting room. D was sitting on the couch, a tea cup in one slim hand, looking no different than he had a thousand times before. Except…his face was still paler than normal, and his body was tensed with some inner stress. 

“D?” Leon hesitated in the doorway, and the duel colored eyes slowly flickered open. 

“Detective,” the Kami replied, his voice rather flat.

The blonde stared hard at the lovely Chinese man (or creature, or god, or whatever) sitting so still on the couch. “Are you okay, D?” he asked finally. “You seemed really upset when you left the station.”

Those red lips lifted at the corners in a bitter smile that made the uneasiness in Leon’s stomach grow stronger. “I am quite well, Detective,” D said. “I assure you.”

Leon hesitated, but D said nothing else. Merely stared at him out of a face that could have been a carved marble mask for all the expression it displayed. “Uh, all right. If you’re sure,” he said at last. 

D nodded once, saying nothing else. His fingers were gripping the porcelain of his tea cup hard enough that it was wonder that the delicate material wasn’t cracking under the pressure. An awkward silence fell, broken only when Chris darted into the room followed by Sofu. 'Leon!' his brother exclaimed, beaming up at him as he hurled himself onto his tall brother’s legs. 'T-chan and I had a really great time today!'

Drawn away from the Kami by his brother’s enthusiasm, Leon smiled as he touched Chris’s blonde curls. “Okay, kiddo. You can tell me all about it on the way home,” he said, and the boy nodded happily. 

The detective was happy to take his brother’s hand and say goodbye to both D and Sofu D. Chris waved and smiled brightly at both Kamis, and D mustered up a tired smile of his own for the lively child. He did not look again at Leon as the human led his brother out of the shop. Silence fell in the sitting room, neither one of them knowing quite what to say.

 

 

Leon, uncomfortable about the atmosphere at the shop and the way D had acted, avoided the place for the next few days. He dropped Chris off and picked him up, but he blew his horn instead of actually going in. He felt bad about doing so, because he still had the feeling that he’d done something wrong where D was concerned. But he couldn’t bring himself to actually confront the otherworldly shopkeeper again so soon. And besides he was busy at work anyway with this nasty murder case, as well as a fairly heavy case load. They hadn’t made any progress in the murder of Hesker, although the forensics team had found some rough golden hairs at the crime scene. But they turned out to be animal hairs, so he was assuming that they’d come from the dog that D had sold Hesker. He absolutely refused to consider D’s theory about a lycanthrope. 

Sofu watched his grandson become ever more withdrawn as the days went by, and there was no sign of Leon Orcot. On the third day, he came into the back room to find D on his knees, clutching at his stomach and moaning. Sofu dashed over and knelt down next to his grandson’s slim form. “Child! What is it?!” he asked in concern.

D gasped in agony. “It hurts, Grandfather,” he whimpered. He bent over even further, panting at the twisting, clutching pain taking place in his abdomen. “What is it?” he groaned.

Sofu shuddered slightly as he placed a hand on D’s shoulder. “I’m afraid that this is the thwarted bond beginning to make demands of you, child,” he said grimly. “It will only get worse. Please let me tell Detective Orcot…” 

“No!” the distress and pain in D’s voice made his grandfather want to weep himself. “No. You promised, Grandfather. Please just help me to my room.”

The older Kami would have argued, but his grandson was in such distress that he didn’t dare. He helped D to his feet and supported his wavering steps back to his room, easing the panting, gasping D onto his bed. The younger Kami immediately curled up into a fetal ball, his hands clutching at his stomach, tears falling down his face as he gritted his teeth in silent agony. Sofu stood looking down on him, hands curled into balls at his sides, fear and distress both weighing him down. He finally touched D’s hair gently and said: “I’ll go and make some tea that will help with the cramps. Rest, child,” he left the room, and now that he was gone, D gave in and whimpered, unable to stay silent any longer under the onslaught of the twisting, wracking pains shooting through his abdomen.

The teas that Sofu concocted did seem to help the cramps, but there were other signs that D’s body was in revolt. He was listless, and despite sleeping far too much there were dark circles under his eyes. Worse, he stopped eating. That was a bad sign for a Kami, especially his grandson who loved food. D even refused the sweets he adored, spending hours curled up in his bed every day and looking with dull, uninterested eyes at the choice tidbits that Sofu tried to tempt him with. His already slender grandson, after two days without food, was beginning to look like a skeleton. His fast metabolism required him to feed it carbohydrates regularly, so he was wasting away far faster than a human would have. 

Sofu could take it no more. He was going to go to the police station and tell Leon Orcot the truth, no matter how angry it made D at him. He couldn’t stand to see his precious grandchild like this, and moreover he didn’t want to lose D. He didn’t know how much longer the younger Kami could last like this, and he didn’t want to wait to find out. But on the third day after the bond had first initiated itself, when he came into D’s room to check on his grandson before departing for the police station, he was horrified to find that D had sunk into a coma sometime during the night. He hurried over to the bed, where D lay on his back with his eyes closed. His chest was barely rising and falling anymore, and his waxy skin lay over his jutting, prominent bones. He could have been a corpse already. A low sound of grief forced itself out of Sofu’s throat, as he caught up a too-thin hand and lifted it to his cheek. Tears fell down his cheeks as he mourned for his beloved grandson. He’d been too late – he should have acted sooner. Soon D would die, and part of his heart would go with him. 

 

Leon pulled up in front of the pet shop, sitting in his car as he stared at the door. It was his day off, and he’d thought to watch a basketball game on t.v. while he lounged around his apartment with Chris. But something weird had happened to him - he’d been sitting on his couch, watching the game, and a strange bout of dizziness had struck him. His head had reeled, and a thick, nearly overwhelming feeling of panic had risen up in his chest. Along with this had come a terrible feeling that something was wrong with D. Something awful. He’d jumped up off the couch, his eyes wild, so suddenly that he’d scared his brother. But he hadn’t had time to reassure Chris, merely calling his partner Jill to ask her to come and watch the boy. He told Jill that something important had come up, and something in his voice had made her agree to come over to his place without demur. He’d told Chris that he had to go see D, and that Jill was going to watch him. The blonde boy had nodded, staring at his big brother with rather wide eyes, for he'd sensed that something was wrong. 

Now he jumped out of his car and hurried over to the door, seeing with a chill that the place was closed. It was NEVER closed at this time of day. He pounded on the door, not caring about the scene he was making, yelling: “D! Open up! D!” His panic intensified as no one came to the door, and he was just about to break it down when it finally opened.

Sofu D stood in the doorway, and Leon was shocked to see tears running down the older Kami’s face. He’d never seen Sofu show this much emotion before, and his stomach headed for his shoes. “Where’s D?” he demanded urgently. “Where is he, Sofu? Is he all right?”

The older Kami just stared at him for a moment. Then he said hoarsely: “Come in, Detective. I will take you to him.” He stepped back, and the human detective shot past him like a bullet.

Leon was even more worried when Sofu didn’t take him into the back or the sitting room, but instead lead the way down a hallway that the blonde had never seen before. “What’s down here?” he asked, and the older Kami spoke over his shoulder. 

“These are my grandson’s private quarters."

“Oh,” Leon realized that they must be going to D’s bedroom. Why was the Kami in his bedroom at this time of day? Fear was now a steady companion as Sofu came to a door and pushed it open. He stepped inside, and gestured for Leon to enter the room as well.

The room beyond was dominated by a large bed draped with silk hangings. Leon gasped in horror when he saw the still figure lying on its back on top of the bedspread. D looked like a waxen doll, his cheeks sunken and his skin as white as snow. It took the detective a moment to see that the Kami’s chest was still rising and falling slightly. 

“What the hell is wrong with him?!” he asked in shock as he hurried over to the bed to stare down at D. “Is he sick? Why haven’t you taken him to the hospital!”

“Your human medicine cannot help him, Detective,” Sofu replied grimly. “Nothing can, now. He is dying, you see.” 

“Dying?!” yelped Leon, panic spiraling out of control within him. “No! Why is he dying? Why can’t you help him?” he snatched up one of D’s hands, horrified at how cold it felt. He glared at Sofu over his shoulder. “You Kami guys are supposed to be sort of magical, aren’t you? So do something for him!”

Sofu shook his head sadly. “I cannot, Detective. This is not a disease that can be treated with medicine. He is fading away as the thwarted bond devours his body.”

Bond? Bond? Why did that sound familiar? Leon wracked his brain, but it took a moment for his wild thoughts to come up with an answer. “Wait a minute!” he cried, turning to look at Sofu. “Bond? Do you mean that thing that D was talking about when he came to the police station? That he and I were supposed to be mates or something?” 

Sofu made an assenting motion with his head. “That is correct. What my grandson failed to tell you, Detective, is that if the bond is not completed the Kami whose body initiates it dies. He didn’t want to tell you this, not wanting to guilt you into accepting this mating bond against your will. He was willing to die rather than live with a mate who was bitter and angry with him for the rest of his life.”

Leon gaped at him in disbelief. D hadn’t told him that he was going to die if Leon didn’t go through with this bond thing? And now…he looked down at the pale, still face on the pillow, and felt anger and grief rise up in him in equal measures. He wanted to shake the Kami and scream invectives in his face. How could D be so stupid?!! He let his anger flow to cover up the need to bawl like a baby.

“Get out,” he growled to Sofu. The older Kami stared at him with slightly widened eyes. “Get out!” he nearly yelled, climbing up on the bed to gather the skeletal form close. Sofu made up his mind, leaving the room swiftly. Hope was a terrible thing within him as he closed the door behind him. He prayed to whatever deities were listening to preserve his grandson.

 

Within the room Leon held the still, cold body close to his and spoke into D’s small ear. “Wake up, D!” he said frantically. “Please! Don’t you die on me, Damn it! You idiot, D! I swear if you die, I’ll hunt you down in the afterlife. Come on, D,” he ran a hand through the lank dark hair, searching the too-thin face for any signs of returning life. But there was nothing. He swore, wondering wildly what to do. Sofu had said this was because this bond thing hadn’t been completed. Could he still somehow go through with it, or was it too late? And what did he do to complete it anyway? He knew with a certainty that while it would take some time to get used to being mated to D, with a longer lifespan and everything else that went with it, he also knew that he couldn’t stand life if D died on him. Somewhere or other, the Kami had crept into his heart and taken root there without his even knowing it. What should he do?

Only one thing came to mind. He cradled the back of D’s head tenderly, then bent his own and kissed the cold, pale lips. This was something he’d wanted to do for months; maybe even years. But not this way, not when there seemed to be no life in them or in the too-thin body draped over his arm. As he did so, he thought with all his might at the Kami 'D. D, hear me. I want this whole bond thing. I accept it. Do you hear me, D? Please. Come on, you damn Kami, bond with me!'

At first it seemed that nothing was happening, that he was too late. A low sob forced its way up his throat, and he rocked D’s skinny form in his arms as grief welled up in him. 'Oh, God, D, please! he begged mentally. 'Don’t die! Come on!'

It came over him suddenly. Something invaded his body, tendrils of energy coiling out from D’s still body and sinking into Leon’s. He stiffened in shock as these tendrils wormed their way into him, binding every part of him in a web of energy that would not be broken until the day that the Kami died. He gasped harshly, his body shaking as the bond took hold within him. There was sudden snap within his head, and abruptly he could feel D there. The Kami was a bright, glowing spark within his head, and he realized in awe that he could literally see D’s soul. With this sensation came a sense of peace, a feeling of rightness that transcended all of his fears and uncertainties. He relaxed and gently kissed D’s mouth again. But this time the lips under his were warm and soft. 

He heard D make a small sound against his lips. He raised his head and looked down into the pale porcelain face, seeing a pair of bewildered parti-colored eyes staring up at him. “Leon?” the Kami whispered. “What is? What are you…” 

The blonde laid a hand against a too-prominent cheekbone. “Oh, I just dropped by to bond with you, D,” he said casually, relief and joy ringing clear in his voice.

 

The Kami blinked, looking puzzled but also hopeful. “You did…But Leon…” he began, his brows knitting.

The detective wasn’t interested in hearing objections from D right now, especially since the deed was already done. He chuckled, taking D by surprise. He could think of one sure fire way to shut the Kami up. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, D,” he murmured, just before he kissed his new lifemate once more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grandpa steps in to help... :P

D moaned helplessly. His brain was confused, befuddled. This was his first (conscious) kiss, and moreover he had just come out a coma to find himself bonded with Leon Orcot! He could FEEL the other man inside of him now, could see the brightly burning flame that was Leon’s personality. That, and the sensation of the blonde detective’s rising desire were making him feel giddy. When a tongue dipped into his mouth he made startled sound, then cried out softly as it laved over his own tongue caressingly. He’d never felt quite like this before – like he was burning up, like he would soon burst into flames. His body, which was thin but healthy now that the bond had been initiated, reacted intensely to the deep, eating kiss taking place between himself and his new bondmate.

The Kami mewled in startlement as a part of his body came alive for the very first time. He squirmed in Leon’s arms, not totally understanding the sudden pain and hardness at his groin. When the blonde lifted his head, looking down at the panting, flushed Kami, D’s parti-colored eyes were dazed and puzzled. “Leon,” he moaned in a voice that made the blood surge in the detective’s veins in turn. “Leon, it hurts,” he thrust his hips upward, trying to silently convey the location of the pleasurable pain.

Leon blinked, his brain trying to reboot. He felt the sudden up-rush of desire within D, and also his confusion over the way his body was stirring to life. He grinned, his blue eyes gleaming, as he sat back on the bed and draped D over one arm. “Don’t worry about it, D,” he crooned. “Leon’s gonna make it all better.”

D’s eyes widened as Leon’s free hand began to slide along the front of the cheongsam the Kami was wearing. “What…?” he asked, then he gasped as that hand gathered up the edge of the silk and began to pull it upward slowly but steadily. 

When the cheongsam was rucked up around D’s waist, Leon released it and let his fingers wander down to the edge of the slim pants that the Kami was wearing under it instead. D gasped for breath, his chest heaving, as he watched Leon’s broad, strong hand slide under the pants and begin to push them down. He had lost all ability to speak, since he didn’t have breath enough, so he couldn’t ask what Leon was doing. A faint blush rose in his cheeks as the blonde detective lifted him enough so that he could slide the pants off of D’s slim hips, but then all embarrassment was forgotten as he stared down at himself in startlement. 

“W-What is…?” he managed to say, his eyes riveted to his very first erection ever. “Why is it like that?”

Leon laughed. He was looking down between his new mate’s legs as well, for this was the closest that he’d ever come to an erection other than his own. But like the rest of D, he thought it was quite pretty. A slim, curved, graceful-looking cock, with a dark-pink tip contrasting with the paleness of the foreskin that sheathed it. It twitched a little in excitement, and clear fluid leaked from the tip. The Kami had no pubic hair, Leon noted. He was as bald as a baby down there, which looked a tad odd. “Come on, D baby,” he husked in answer to the Kami’s question, “Surely you know about this? You must have seen animals mate, if nothing else.”

“Oh,” his words made comprehension enter the parti-colored eyes, then D’s face flamed as he covered them with one too-thin hand. “Oh, my…”

Leon was enchanted by his mate’s innocent naiveté on this subject, and he thought the Kami’s embarrassment quite cute. “It's okay,” he breathed into a shell like ear. “This is normal. All guys get them. Most of us get them all the time. This is what puberty’s all about, honey. You’ll just have to get used to that now that we’re together.”

When D refused to drop his hand away from his eyes, Leon grinned and spit on his hand. Then he slid it down to curl around the base of the pretty cock between his mate’s thighs. D yelped, his hand finally falling away, as fingers closed over this most sensitive part of him and slid the length of it in a long stroke. The Kami’s back arched over Leon’s arm as his head went back to expose the long line of an elegant white neck. “Leon!” he shrieked, squirming in his mate’s grasp. “Oh, oh!”

“Just relax,” the blonde purred into his ear. “Doesn’t it feel good? Relax and let it happen,” then he ran his tongue along the curve of that self-same ear even as he sped up the metronomic movement of his hand. 

D jerked in his grip, his hips lifting to meet each movement. His mouth hung open as he struggled to breathe, and the parti-colored eyes were glazed. Color had swarmed up into those previously too pale cheeks, and he was just the most gorgeous thing that Leon Orcot had ever seen. It was a huge rush for him to know that Count D was going to come for the very first time in his hand. Jacking off was an art form that he was well versed in, so it wasn’t that hard to do it for someone else. He dug his thumb in just under the head, and D made an inarticulate sound as his hands opened and closed frantically on nothing. 

Leon could feel what D was feeling through the bond. The shock, the fear of the unknown, the rising pleasure. This in turn was working him up to such a degree that if he hadn’t had his mate draped over his arm, he would have been tearing at his belt by now to get himself out of his constricting pants. He gritted his teeth against the pain throbbing at his groin, and ran his thumb over the sensitive tip of D’s cock. The Kami wailed, his whole body tensing, as he felt a surge within himself. Something was going to happen, something was coming…

“It’s all right,” Leon growled in his ear as his body trembled, “Don’t be scared. Come for me, baby.”

D didn’t know what Leon was asking him to do. Come? Come where? But before he could think about this question in any significant way, the blonde tightened his hand and gave a final strong stroke. D screamed in shock and ecstasy as that something broke over him, and he orgasmed in Leon’s hand. For a brief moment he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see, he hung between the Heavens and the Earth as pleasure roared through him in a tidal wave…

D went limp in his arms, panting and spent. Leon felt a surge of pride rush through him, along with the aftershocks of what his newly-bonded mate was feeling. He groaned softly, for he was in considerable discomfort by now. Watching D orgasm was bad enough; feeling it as it happened was just too damn much. He gently set D down on the red-and-gold bedspread, and ripped at his pants in a near frenzy. He pushed them and his underwear down his hips in one movement, freeing his aching cock. He gripped it tightly, beginning to stroke, hisses of pleasure drawn from his mouth as he concentrated on the feel of his hand. All he had to do to heighten the sensation was to think of how D had looked not long before as he came for the very first time. He was going to come soon, too, just from thinking about it.

D finally returned to semi-coherency. His eyes flickered open, and the first thing he saw was Leon leaning back on his heels, with his pants half pulled down and his naked erection in his hand. The blonde’s face was contorted as his hand moved swiftly. The Kami could feel the deep pleasure that his mate was feeling, and curiosity made him roll slightly over and lift one still too-thin hand to touch Leon’s penis as well. The detective gasped when D’s hand closed over him, and he stilled his own with a wrench to see what the Kami would do. It was one of the hardest things that he’d ever done, because his balls were drawing up and he’d been about to come. He clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists at his sides, as D stared at the organ he held in his hand with rapt attention. It was so different from his own! It seemed thicker when erect, and it had no protective foreskin. The Kami knew that most American males were circumcised, and he found the hardness and heat fascinating. He moved his hand a bit, experimentally, and Leon harshed out a groan above him. Using those sounds and the feelings that accompanied them, the Kami began to learn how to pleasure his mate. 

Leon loved the feel of D’s hand on him. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to last with that slim appendage beginning to move so exquisitely. At the same time, his mate’s other hand came up to close over his balls, and D felt the weight of them as well as the rough scratchiness of the dark-blonde pubic hair. Kamis didn’t have any body hair, and so he was just as fascinated by it as everything else. Maybe more, since while he and Leon mostly shared equivalent equipment the curling hair that surrounded the detective’s sex organs was something entirely new to him. He let his fingers run through it while Leon shuddered above his head.

“D, honey, I’m gonna…come…” Leon rasped out. 

That word again. The Kami frowned up questioningly at his mate. “What do you mean, Leon? You’re going to come? Come where?”

“All over your face, sweetheart, if you keep leaning down so close to me,” the blonde ground out. 

D’s brows knit, for he truly didn’t understand. But just then, his hand did something particularly nice all along the length of the cock it held, and that was it. Before he could cry out a warning, Leon climaxed. The Kami gave a cry of startlement and disgust as he jerked his head back a bit too late. Semen splashed out onto his porcelain skin, and Leon groaned loudly at the sight even though he knew his mate wasn’t too happy about it. It was just so damn sexy! D dropped the erection to reach up and wipe at the white stuff on his face, staring at it as it clung to his fingers. Leon said hoarsely: “That’s what ‘coming’ means, D. that’s what you did too.”

“Oh," the Kami realized that both he and Leon had ejaculated, that their seed had spilled out of their bodies. He might be relatively young, at least by Kami standards, but he knew about procreation. Working around animals, overseeing their matings, he was knowledgeable about the clinical part of the act. It was only the actual reality of it that he was naive about. Although not so naive as he used to be… 

“Sorry about that,” Leon said, clambering off the bed to go over to a door that led, just as he’d hoped it might, into a bathroom. He grabbed a hand towel off the rack and moistened it, then returned to the room. D was just sitting up, still looking a tad pale, but much better than he had when Leon had first entered the bedroom. He sat down next to his new mate and began to gently wipe the splashed semen off of his face. 

“Well, they say it's good for the complexion,” the detective remarked as he ran the towel down one too-prominent cheekbone. “Although yours doesn’t need any help, D. You’ve got the best skin I’ve ever seen, bar none.”

“Thank you, Leon,” the Kami replied. Leon finished cleaning him up, then remembered that his pants were half pulled down, and got himself put to rights. D did the same, smoothing his cheongsam down at the front. They finished none too soon, for there was a knock at the door and Sofu entered before either could say anything. His golden eyes went from his grandson’s still flushed face to Leon’s, and his lips twitched slightly. But he was too pleased that the detective had accepted the bond, and that D was looking so much better, to object in any way. Besides,the two were obviously a mated pair now. The elder Kami could see the bonds of energy pulsing between them, tying the two men together permanently. 

“I’ve brought food,” he said to D, nodding at the tray he held in his hands. The Kami brightened at the mention of food, for not only hadn’t he eaten anything in the last two days, he’d also used a ton of energy not so very long ago. He was literally starving, and his stomach rumbled most embarrassingly as Sofu approached the bed. 

“Here we are,” Sofu set the tray across D’s lap, and the younger Kami made a happy sound when he saw what was on it. Butter heavy croissants with raspberry jam and clotted cream to spoon over them, a piece of chocolate-cherry cheesecake, and a dozen or so chocolate-covered truffles. While D happily tore into this feast, Leon eyed first the tray and then Sofu in disbelief. 

“You know I’m the last person to lecture you on good nutrition, Sofu…” he said doubtfully, “But have you ever heard of a balanced diet? Why is he eating all this sweet stuff?”

“Kami metabolisms are not like you humans’, Leon,” the elder Kami replied serenely. “That is why you see my grandson eat so many sweets - because they are rich in the things that we need to run our very fast metabolisms properly. He eats other foods, and I shall feed those types of things to him eventually, but right now he needs to get his body weight back up. And these things will do that the quickest,” he added as he waved at the contents of the tray.

“If you say so,” Leon said doubtfully. Then something occurred to him. “Hey, you called me Leon!” He exclaimed, staring up at the older Kami. 

Sofu smiled slightly. “Of course. Before you were simply a somewhat annoying human detective who kept coming around the shop to bug my poor grandson. But now you are his bondmate. Thus you are part of my family. So I shall call you Leon, unless you object for some reason?”

“No, no, that’s okay,” Leon replied. “It's just gonna take some getting used to. A lot like this whole bonding thing,” he added wryly, even as he slid an arm around D’s slender body. He received a sweet smile for this gesture, and Sofu shook his head.

“I think you’re adjusting just fine, Leon,” he said, sounding satisfied.

 

When D finished off the whole tray of food(much to Leon’s amazement), he handed it to his grandfather, and then leaned against Leon. The detective would have thought that the Kami was getting affectionate, except for the fact that D’s eyes closed and he promptly fell asleep. Gorging on all of those sweets had clearly worn him out. The two men (or one man and a Kami, anyway) maneuvered him back onto the bed and under the covers, leaving him to sleep peacefully. “He’ll sleep a great deal at first as his body heals,” Sofu said softly as they left the bedroom and closed the door behind them. “But he should be fully healed and back to his old self in about a week.”

Leon looked grateful for this bit of information. He had been horrified by how thin D was, and his heart had ached when he’d pushed down the silk pants and had seen the way the Kami’s hipbones jutted out. He wanted his healthy, lively D back, and soon…the sooner the better, said the randy, hormonally-charged part of his brain. But that left him with a bit of a problem, actually, for now that he and D were mates they’d want to…and he’d never been with another guy. Never even really contemplated it before D. Moreover, the young Kami had absolutely no experience with either sex. Much as he didn’t want to do what he was going to next, there was no choice.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, Sofu…can I ask you something?” he said, trying not to squirm like a school boy. 

The older Kami stopped in his tracks and turned to look questioningly at Leon, for the detective's tone of voice had been rather odd. “Call me Grandfather, Leon,” he said. 

This statement threw Leon off for a moment, because it was hard to think of calling the guy who looked no older than his own mate ‘Grandfather’. But if it was what Sofu wanted… “Okay, Grandfather,” he said, feeling silly. But the pleasure in Sofu’s eyes made it worth it, and he rubbed at the back of his neck rather sheepishly as he continued. “I have a problem.”

Golden eyes blinked as Sofu tilted his head a bit. “A problem?” He reiterated

Leon nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never…uh…BEEN with another guy before this,” he rushed to say. “I don’t, umm…”

“I see,” Sofu said. “Do not worry, Leon, I shall be happy to help you”

Leon looked horrified. “HELP me?!” he blurted out.

There was a twinkle in the golden eyes that did not bode well for him. “Of course. Who better than I to give you the talk about…I believe you human refer to it as ‘the birds and the bees’, do they not?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon gets some lessons he'd rather not learn, at least not from this particular instructor...

“We will begin,” said Sofu calmly, “With fellatio.”

Leon, sitting on the brocade couch across from him, nearly spat his mouthful of tea back out. “Umm…” he said, his sense of horror growing stronger every moment, “Do you mean…?”

The older Kami lifted a single black brow. “I am speaking of giving head, or a blow job,” he replied serenely, sipping at his own tea while his golden eyes took on an amused light.

“That’s what I thought you were talking about,” the detective said numbly. 

Sofu relaxed back against the couch as he studied the blonde human’s face. “Leon,” he said gently, “This is a skill that you will want to know, being mated with another male. Unless of course you wish me to only teach my grandson how to do this, since you do not intend to return the favor?” there was a disapproving note in his voice. 

“No, I…” Leon shook his head. He’d always been happy to return the favor when a woman gave him a blow job. But it was a bit different, doing it to another guy. There were logistics that he’d never had to concern himself with when he was with a female partner. “I do. But,” he ran a hand distractedly through his short blonde hair. “I don’t know that I’m comfortable talking to you about this.”

“While I understand your hesitation,” Sofu replied smoothly, “And I’m not particularly happy about this either, I have had a great deal of experience. I will be the best teacher for you, since there aren’t exactly classes on this that you can enroll in at your local college.”

He had a point. Leon blinked at his words though. “You have a lot of experience…but you have a kid!” he said. “D’s Dad. If you’re gay, how did you…”

“I am not gay,” the Kami said. “Nor am I ‘straight’. My people do not limit ourselves to lovers of one sex generally. We are, for the most part, true bisexuals, comfortable with lovers of any sex or race.”

“Any race? Why do I get the feeling that you’re not talking about Chinese people versus white people?” the detective asked.

Sofu smiled. “Up until a week ago you thought that humans were the only kind of sentient creatures on this world, Leon," he pointed out. “But now you know better. And we Kamis are only one of the races that share this planet – albeit somewhat reluctantly sometimes – with you.” 

“Oh,” he had to believe that now that he knew about Kamis. And let’s face it – no human could have done what D had, with this whole bonding thing. He certainly couldn’t pretend that nothing had happened, for he could even now feel his new mate inside of his head. So when Sofu spoke casually of yet other races, he had to believe the older Kami’s words. Never mind that it made him feel rather cold to imagine what some of these ‘other races’ might be.

Sofu’s face sobered. “There’s something that I must warn you about, Leon,” he said seriously. 

“Yeah, what?” The detective asked warily.

“You have made an assumption, and a perfectly understandable one at that. You think that I had to sleep with a female to produce my son, and I’m sure that you think that he had to do the same to have his own children.”

“Umm, sure, of course I did,” Leon said in puzzlement.

The Kami shook his head. “We are not human, Leon,” he said. “There are very few Kami females. The ratio of births is something like one female for ever hundred males born.”

Leon gaped at him. Sofu shook his head. “That is why we take lovers from other races, and also why we mate with them. Moreover, it explains a peculiarity about our biology. When a Kami male takes a female lover, he will breed with her in the normal fashion and she will bear his child. But when a Kami takes a male lover, it is HE who will produce the offspring. In other words,” he continued as Leon’s jaw dropped, “We may be males, but we are perfectly capable of bearing a child. I gave birth to my son, in fact, because I had a male lover at the time he was conceived. And my grandson cannot only bear your child, Leon, there is every chance that he will unless you take precautions.”

A dazed Leon said slowly: “Precautions? You mean like birth control?”

Sofu nodded. “That is correct. A newly-mated couple such as yourselves will have enough to deal with without throwing a child into the mix. But the problem with the mating bond is that it tends to heighten the chances of conception a great deal. So there is a very high chance that your mate will get pregnant if you don’t do something to prevent it.”

Leon scratched at his head. “I’m having trouble with this,” he mumbled in confusion. “I mean, where does the baby…come from?”

Sofu’s lips twitched at the expression on the blonde’s face. “While we are very much males, we do have an internal womb. And we also have a closed birth passage that opens when the child is ready to be born. Do you want me to go into more detail?”

“No,” Leon said, looking rather green. 

Sofu laughed lightly. “Very well. But I thought it wise to warn you about it. My grandson has very little idea about any of this, since he is just entering puberty. I do not think that he is any more ready to have a child at this time than you are. But if you’re careful, there will be no more chance of conception than there would be with one of your own females. And when you’re both ready to start a family, you will simply forgo birth control.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Leon said, shaking his head a little to clear it. “It’s weird enough being D’s mate, but if I had to be a dad right now too…”

He paused. “Would the kid be human or a Kami?” he asked curiously.

“It would be a Kami,” Sofu replied promptly. “All children born of a Kami and another race tend to be our kind. It is how we assure the continuation of our species, since Kami births tend to be rather rare. Would that be a problem for you?” he asked carefully, studying Leon’s face.

The blonde blinked as a vision of what he and D’s child might look like ran through his head. A small, beautiful, big-eyed creature, perhaps with parti-colored eyes like(most likely his, since there were so many more males born than females) ‘mother’. His breath caught, and he could actually feel himself turning to mush at the very thought. “No,” he said aloud, “No, that wouldn’t be a problem for me at all.”

Sofu looked pleased by both the tone of his voice and the expression on his face. “Very well” he said softly. “Now returning to our original topic…”

“Oh, God,” Leon groaned, putting up a hand to rub at his head. “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” the Kami replied severely. “If you have ever had anal intercourse with a woman, you will have very little problem translating that into being with a male. But fellatio is very different from cunnilingus, as I well know. You could either choke or cause your partner pain if you don’t learn to do it correctly. Do you want to do either of those things, Leon?”

He didn’t. And he did want to do it right when he finally gave D oral pleasure. But still, it was the most hideously embarrassing thing talking about this stuff with Sofu D, the same ‘man’ who’d asked Leon to call him Grandfather. The thought of talking about giving blow jobs with his real grandfather made him go cold with horror. Still…where else was he supposed to go, and who else was he supposed to talk to about this stuff? There were gay cops, of course, but he didn’t know any of them that well. And he couldn’t just casually ask them about how to go about giving head. He sighed, wishing he had any choice. “Okay,” he said grimly, “Let’s get to it. What do I need to know?”

Sofu gave him a compassionate look. “It will be better to demonstrate as well as explain,” he said as he rose gracefully from the couch. “Practice makes perfect, after all. I will return in a moment,” he added, leaving the room. Leon sat on the couch trying to figure out those last statements, and not liking the sound of them at all. He wished that he could just flee right now before he got to find out what Sofu meant by ‘practice makes perfect’. But the older Kami wasn’t gone very long, and even as he was considering getting while the getting was good, Sofu pushed back through the hanging beads with a carved wooden box held in his hand. 

“Here we are,” he said, far too cheerfully for Leon’s tastes. His slender fingers opened the box as he continued: “This will be perfect for you to practice with.”

Leon stared at the Kami’s hand as he lifted an object from within the box. It was a smooth wooden… “Jesus Christ,” the detective groaned, not believing his eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

Sofu looked down at the thing he held in his hand. “Well, I do not know what you think it is,” he pointed out reasonably. “But it is a phallus.”

Leon gaped at it, then at him. “Uh, no offense, but why do you have something like that just lying around…” he asked feebly.

Sofu’s lips quirked no one side. “It does not just ‘lie around’, Leon,” he replied. “I keep it in my room. And as for why I do that…” he lifted an eloquent eyebrow. “Do you really want to know that? Because I will tell you, in detail, if you do.” 

Leon shook his head very vigorously. “No, no, that’s all right,” he said. “I don’t need to know.”

The Kami gave the flustered human an amused look. “Very well. We’ll get right down to practicing,” he said as he walked over to Leon and held out the wooden phallus calmly. 

“Practicing?” Leon bleated. “Practicing what?” he made no move to take the thing that the older Kami was holding out to him. 

Sofu sighed. “Fellatio, of course. What did you think I meant?”

“I never wanted to know,” Leon replied, trying to back up on the couch somehow. “Listen, Sof…Grandfather, I’ll figure this out as I go along. Really. It’s no problem.”

“It is a problem,” Sofu said sharply. “This is something you need to know. How else will you teach my grandson how to do this?”

Leon looked surprised. “Uh, I kinda just thought that you’d show him how to do it,” he said.

“I could, of course, but why should he not be shown by his mate? What better teacher than the person who is bonded to him? And if you imagine that this is embarrassing for you, Leon, can you imagine how my grandson would feel to have his elder relative show him how to do such intimate things? How would you feel if your grandsire had ever wanted to teach you about sexual matters?”

Again Leon felt a cold chill go down his spine as an image of his grandfather trying to teach him how to suck another guy’s cock with a dildo went through his head. And poor D would be completely mortified if Sofu had to show him sexual techniques. It might be better if he showed D those things. And the truth was, the thought of demonstrating to his new mate how to give him head was extremely appealing. He sighed, not believing that he was really even thinking about going along with this. “Just give it to me,” he said holding out his hand. He grimaced as Sofu set the wooden phallus into it. “I think I must be insane,” he muttered. “So what do I do?” he went on, steeling himself to somehow get through the next half-hour or so without dying of sheer embarrassment.

 

 

Leon entered the bedroom where D was still sleeping, drinking a bottle of water. The muscles of his jaw felt sore, and the back of his mouth didn’t feel that great either. He would have preferred a beer, but(no big shocker) the Kamis didn’t keep alcohol in the shop anywhere. He still couldn’t believe what he’d just been doing under Sofu’s stern taskmaster eye, practicing until the older Kami was satisfied. And he doubted very much that he would have been able to get through the ‘lesson’ at all if Sofu had shown any amusement at his expense. But the Kami had been very professional and cool, and he had not displayed any more embarrassment once the lesson began either. That had helped Leon a lot, since he was feeling embarrassed enough for both of them. 

But it was worth it, he thought as he approached the bed and looked down at the beautiful face of the Kami resting there. Long raven black lashes lay against D’s porcelain cheeks, and he was just so exquisite that Leon found himself enthralled. He couldn’t help himself; he bent down and softly kissed those sweet lips. The Kami stirred in his sleep and murmured, a happy sound, as a small smile spread across his face. He recognized the touch of his mate’s mouth even in deep sleep. He stroked one still rather too-prominent cheekbone lovingly with his finger. “I guess that was all worth it,” he said softly to his sleeping mate. “Even if I never do get over the embarrassment of having your grandfather teach me how to do that. At least now I can show you how to do it in turn,” he kissed D’s forehead. “Rest and get better. The sooner you do, the sooner I can give you lessons,” there was a smile in his voice. “I gotta go home and reassure Chris and Jill that nothing awful has happened. I ran out of there like my ass was on fire. They’re probably worried sick. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With a last gentle caress, he straightened up and left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon's learned his lesson... :P

When Leon arrived back at his apartment, he walked in to find two sets of anxious eyes trained on him. Both Jill and his brother were clearly terribly worried, wondering why he’d run out in such frantic haste. He conjured up a reassuring smile for them. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “Everything’s fine.”

“And Count D?” Jill asked, rising from the couch while still looking at him. She was searching his face to see if he was just trying to reassure her or if he really meant what he said.

Leon surprised her by grinning widely. “He’s great,” he said, and something in his voice made her brows lift a little. The blonde detective looked down at his brother. “Hey, buddy, would you play in your room for a little bit? Then we can go over to the shop and you can see D and Sofu and T-chan.” Chris brightened up at thi,s and hastily ran off to his room to do as his big brother said so that he could get his treat as quickly as possible.

Jill spoke as soon as the boy was out of the room. “What’s going on, Leon?” she demanded. “How come you sprinted out of here looking like Caspar the Friendly Ghost’s twin brother? And how come you’ve come back looking like a guy who just won the lottery?”

He shrugged, feeling great. “Actually I’d like to tell you everything, Jill,” he said casually. His partner had always been far more open than he about the weirdness that abounded in D’s shop. 

“Okay,” She sat back down as he threw himself into his favorite armchair. “Tell me all,” she said, leaning forward in anticipation. 

So he did. The only thing he left out was the truly embarrassing ‘lesson’ that he’d had with Sofu D, but he recounted everything else that had happened both at the police station when D had come to see him, and a little while ago at the shop. She listened intently, her face registering the various emotions she was feeling as the wild story progressed. When he was done, she took a long breath. “Wow,” she said softly. "So you and Count D are mated for life? That is sooo romantic!!”

Leon gaped at her. Her eyes were shiny, and she looked pleased. “How is it romantic?” He asked in puzzlement. 

She sighed. “You don’t have a romantic bone in your entire body do you, Leon? If you did you’d know how sweet this all is. Besides, I’ve always thought you two were perfect for each other.”

His mouth dropped toward the floor. “Huh? What do you mean?” he demanded.

She shook her head. “Leon, Leon. I’ve seen the way that you two look at each other. Honestly I think that you both were the only ones who DIDN’T realize what was going on, and at least D has the excuse that he hadn’t hit this Kami version of puberty yet. You, on the other hand, are just dense.”

“Hey!” he protested, but she lifted a hand. 

 

“It’s true, Leon,” she said. “I can understand why – you didn’t want to admit that you were starting to fall for another guy. Your little straight boy mind was having problems with the very concept. But I could tell – hell, most of the department could. Most of them think that you’ve already hooked up with D. They’d be surprised that it took so long.”

Leon was flabbergasted. “But…if that’s true, how come I haven’t heard any jokes about it?” He asked. “These ARE cops we’re talking about! They couldn’t resist torturing me about ‘jumping the fence’.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Jill replied. “But honestly, most of them like both you and D too much to make faggot jokes around you. And I honestly think that it has something to do with how well-mannered D is. They’d be embarrassed to say anything around him, and by extension around you because you’re supposed to be his lover. That’s my theory anyway.”

Silence. Leon rubbed at his short blonde hair, trying to overcome his disbelief about the fact that most of the department seemed to think that he’d been banging D for months now. And he had to believe it – there was no better weathervane for gossip around the department than Jill. She always knew everything that was going on. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about how everybody’s going to react when they find out I’m with D,” he said wryly. “Since they all think I’m with him anyway. That’ll make things a bit easier, I guess.”

Jill nodded. “Anyway, what are you going to do now?” She asked. 

He blinked at her. “What do you mean?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “You and D are together now, Leon, for good. What I mean is – is he gonna move in here?” she looked around the apartment in disbelief. While he kept it cleaner and porn free now because of his brother’s presence, it still wasn’t high-class or tidy. D would most likely turn up his elegant nose if Leon even made the suggestion that the Kami move in with him. 

 

“You have a point,” he said. “I haven’t thought about that because I was too worried about D. I guess we’ll have to talk about it when I get back to the shop.”

Jill waved a hand. "I think you should consider moving in with him instead,” she said. “At the shop,” she added. 

He frowned a little in thought. “That could work. Chris already loves it there, and it's not that much further from work than this place is. Maybe half-an-hour’s drive. I’ll suggest it to D. I just hope that he can put up with me,” he continued with a wry twist to his lips. “Me being the lazy slob I am and all.”

Jill giggled. “You’ll probably end up sleeping in the shop with the animals,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. “After you drive him crazy that is. You could have your own basket to curl up in and everything.”

“Har har,” he replied. “Anyway that brings you up to speed. Thanks for watching Chris, I owe you one. I’m gonna take him over to the shop so that D and I can talk about all this stuff. I’ll see you at work, Jill,” he stood up, and she did as well.

“Okay, but you have to tell me how everything goes,” she said as she started toward the door. “This is better than a soap opera. Most of them don’t have otherworldly beings in them, after all. And MALE otherworldly beings who can get pregnant!” she added excitedly.

He groaned. “Don’t remind me of that. Although…I’m kinda glad you did actually. I’ll have to stop at a drug store on the way.”

Jill snickered, for she knew that he was talking about buying rubbers. “That’s a good idea. But don’t forget to get something to smooth the way,” she added impishly. At his questioning look, she shook her head again. “Lube, Leon,” she said, delighting in the expression on his face. “See ya later,” she continued, laughing as she went out the door of his apartment. 

Leon sighed. It had probably been stupid of him to tell his partner everything; now she had even more ammo to use against him. He’d never hear the end of this. Ah, well; Jill was a friend as well as a partner, and she deserved to know. He went down the hallway to his brother’s room, looking in to see Chris happily playing with some action figures that Leon had bought him for Christmas. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, and the blonde boy looked up at his expectantly. “You ready to go see everybody?”

'Yes!' Chris replied happily as he scrambled to his feet. 

“Come on, then. And I’ll buy you some Gummi bears at the drug store on the way,” he said and the boy brightened ever further. Gummi bears were his favorite type of candy. And he could share them with T-chan, who liked them almost as much as he did. 

Leon quickly grabbed the stuff he needed in the drugstore, and tried hard not to look the clerk in the eye. He didn’t forget to get a bag of Gummi bears for his brother, and he handed these to the boy as he got into the car carrying the white bag with the drug store’s name printed on the side. Chris happily tore into the treats, eating all of the red ones first. He had finished all of those and was starting on the rest when they finally arrived at the shop. He pulled off his seat belt and jumped out of the car, running up to the door of the shop and pushing through it. He greeted Sofu, who was behind the counter. The older Kami smiled gently at him. “Hello, Christopher. Ahh, I see you have Gummi bears,” he added, seeing the bag clutched in the boy’s hand. “T-chan will be most pleased.”

Chris nodded. 'Can I go in the back and share them with him?' he asked eagerly, and Sofu made an assenting gesture. 

“Of course. Go ahead, child.” 

Chris beamed at him, before running off down the hallway toward the shop. Sofu greeted Leon as the blonde detective followed his brother into the shop. “D still asleep?” he asked, and the older Kami nodded.

 

“But he will probably be waking up sometime soon, to get something to eat if nothing else. He’ll need to eat often until he recovers.”

“Okay. I’ll just go and see if he’s waking up yet.” Leon left in rather a hurry, which made Sofu’s golden eyes gleam. The detective’s eagerness pleased him. That was how a bonded person should be responding to his mate - wanting to be with that person constantly, especially at first while the bond strengthened between the two. He bustled off to the kitchen to see about more food for his grandson, humming a little to himself in pure happiness. He’d come so close to losing his precious grandchild – but instead D was now happily mated to his human detective. It was going to be a very good day, Sofu mused to himself. A very good day indeed.

 

Leon walked into the bedroom, seeing D still lying on his side, sound asleep. A fragile hand was curled up near his cheek, and he looked both very young and very sweet. He smiled as he walked over to the bed and carefully sat down on the side of it. He reached out to gently touch D’s cheek again. The Kami stirred but didn’t awaken at this touch, making a small sound and nuzzling into Leon’s hand. The blonde detective decided not to shake him awake, since the Kami needed all the sleep he could get to recover. He decided to join D instead. He slowly pulled off his clothing, trying to lay it neatly over a chair nearby instead of tossing it on the floor as he usually did. He’d have to learn to be neater now that he’d most likely be living with D here at the shop. Then he crawled into the bed, burrowing under the covers so that he could slide over and pull D’s still-clothed form into his arms. 

Leon buried his nose into the fragrant dark hair as D sighed in pleasure and turned toward the hard body lying next to his. He snuggled his face into Leon’s bare chest, making the human shudder faintly. He could feel D’s warm breath on his skin, and each exhalation made his body respond even more sharply. It was a good thing that he wasn’t tired, Leon thought; holding his mate like this was not a way to ensure that he’d get any sleep. But he was content to just lay like this with the slumbering Kami in his arms, listening to the even sound of D’s breathing and rejoicing in the fact that the lovely supernatural creature still lived. He’d come so close, so very close, to losing D altogether…he couldn’t forget how D had looked when he’d first entered the room earlier. He tightened his arms around the too-thin body possessively, even as he bent his head and kissed the Kami on the forehead. 

 

 

D finally awoke a half-hour later. His parti-colored eyes flickered open, and the first thing he saw was Leon’s handsome face. The human was propped up on one arm next to him in the bed, watching him. The detective smiled. “Welcome back, baby,” he said, putting out a hand to run a finger along D’s lower lip tenderly. “You sure slept well. How do you feel?”

D yawned a little, stretching rather like a cat. “I feel much better, Leon,” he said. “Although I’m hungry,” he added as his stomach rumbled.

The human chuckled. “Why am I not surprised? Granddad said he’d make you some more food,” he added.

The Kami blinked. “Granddad?” He repeated in puzzlement.

Leon grinned. “Sofu asked me to call him Grandfather now that you and I are mated, but if you ask me that’s too formal. So I’ll just call him Granddad from now on.”

D giggled charmingly, one hand flying to his mouth. His eyes sparkled with laughter as he imagined his grandfather’s reaction to being called ‘Granddad’ by Leon. He was so beautiful this way that the detective couldn’t help but bend his head and replace the slim hand with his own mouth. D moaned, taken by surprise, but also feeling a rising excitement as Leon’s tongue invaded his mouth and began to caress over everything within. His hands came up to clutch at broad (and bare, he realized belatedly)shoulders as the human kissed him so wonderfully that he felt like his body was going to combust. 

This make-out session might have turned into something much more if they hadn’t both heard a polite knocking at the door. Leon pulled his mouth reluctantly away from D’s, cursing under his breath at the interruption. The Kami’s eyes were still dazed, and seeing them didn’t help at all. He slid out of the bed to go and answer the door, only then remembering that he was nude. He cursed again, louder this time, making D frown at him. “Really, Leon,” he chided as the human struggled to get back into his jeans and nearly fell over in the process. “Your language.”

“Sorry, D,” Leon growled as he finally managed to pull the jeans up, wincing at the pain in his groin as the rigid material confined the erection he was sporting. He walked over to the door in a sort of crab-wise manner, making the Kami stare at him in puzzlement. Since he himself tended to wear rather-loose clothing, D had no idea of just how uncomfortable the human detective was right at this moment. But then he felt what Leon was feeling through the bond, and he winced a bit in sympathy as the blonde detective pulled the door open to admit Sofu carrying yet another tray of food. 

“Ahh you’re awake, child” the elder Kami said in satisfaction as he carried the tray over to the bed. D sat up slowly, looking eagerly at the food he could see on it. He was practically licking his lips in anticipation as Sofu set the tray on his lap. D tore into the food, knowing it wasn’t very good manners to just gobble it down but not caring right at the moment. Leon returned to the bed and sat down next to him, and Sofu looked from one to the other before excusing himself politely. He left the room, saying that he would return in a little while for the tray. 

Leon spoke: “Hey, D. We’ve gotta talk about some stuff. You just keep eating,” he added as his mate stopped briefly to look questioningly at him. “I’ll start. I told Jill about all this, and she suggested that I should move in here with you instead of the other way around. And she’s right; you’d hate my apartment. I don’t mind moving in here with you if that’s what you want, and Chris would really like it. So what do you say?”

D swallowed the last bite of the pastry he was eating. He’d had even less time than Leon to adjust to everything that had happened in the last few hours, since he’d slept through most of it. He considered Leon’s proposal, and knew with a certainty that it was a good one. He just wanted to be with Leon now that they were mated, but he also needed to be able to continue to run the shop. If his human was all right with living here with him, that would solve any problems. “I would like that,” he said in reply. 

Leon huffed in laughter. “You might not say that after a few months of living with me,” he said dryly. “I’ll run it by Chris, but I’m sure that he’ll love the idea of living here. Since I’ve got tomorrow off, too, I can start moving our stuff in here. If you have room for it that is.”

D laughed softly. “I think that you’ll find that I have plenty of room for both you and Chris,” he said.

Leon rested his hand on D’s knee, caressing it through the fabric of the bedspread and the silk pants. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” he remarked. “I always learn new things when I’m around you Kamis. And speaking of lessons…” his eyes took on a gleam that made D’s chest flutter and parts lower down tighten, “Granddad taught me something new which I can’t wait to show you.”

D’s brows drew together. “Grandfather taught you something?” he asked.

“That’s right. He’s just a wealth of information. And now I think it’s time to pass it on…” he chuckled as he leaned forward and covered D’s lips with his own once more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon shows off his newfound kills... :P

Kissing D was an experience like none that Leon had ever had before. The Kami’s mouth was just so sweet…maybe from all the sugar he ate. He began to teach his mate about kissing, playfully twining his tongue with D’s to encourage him to venture out of his own mouth and into Leon’s. He drank in the soft, muffled moans he pulled out of the Kami’s throat as the kiss continued, and his hands began to run down a slender back caressingly. One of them insinuated itself under the lower edge of the cheongsam, then wriggled under the waistband of the silk pants. 

D squeaked as a warm, hard hand coasted over the bare skin of his ass, tenderly cupping a cheek. He squirmed a bit on the bed, feeling far too warm and desperately excited as Leon’s tongue laved over the roof of his mouth at the same time as that questing hand began to rub in circles over the tender skin of his ass. He pushed himself forward, trying to get more contact with the hard, half-naked body of his human mate. Leon’s other hand gripped the small of his back and pulled him close, so that the blonde’s bare chest was rubbing against the front of D’s cheongsam. The Kami tightened his hold on his mate’s neck, his nails digging into the bare skin in a way that wasn’t terribly comfortable. But at this stage the human detective really didn’t care anymore. 

When Leon finally lifted his head, he looked with satisfaction at the beautiful Kami’s flushed face and dazed, parti-colored eyes. D was panting for breath, his mouth hanging open, his lips kiss swollen. Lust and a far deeper emotion churned through Leon, and D responded to both of these as he felt them through the bond. “Leon,” he moaned, and the sound of his voice roughened with desire made the human shudder faintly. 

Leon pushed D backward onto the bed, then leaned over him and tried to figure out how to undo the frogs on the front of the cheongsam. But he was having trouble, and he frowned as frustration rose up in him. He wanted the Kami out of this garment, and he wanted it now! “Damn it, D,” he snarled in disgust, “How the hell do you get these open?!” 

D giggled as he felt the human’s growing frustration, and lifted his hands to lay them over Leon’s. “Like this, Leon,” he said, showing the detective what to do. The blonde drew in a sharp breath as the frogs began to part under his and D’s fingers. He couldn’t wait to see the lovely body under this ‘dress’, in spite of the fact that he knew it was still too thin. But to his dismay, he finally got the last one undone and shoved the front of the cheongsam apart, only to find his way barred by some kind of gauzy garment. It showed tantalizing glimpses of the skin under it, but still hid most of that glorious body from his gaze. 

“What the fuck?!” he yelped, only to do so again without words when he felt nails digging hard into the skin of his hands. 

 

“Your language is appalling, Leon,” the Kami said serenely. “It offends my ears.”

“Sorry,” the human said hurriedly as his mate retracted his sharp nails from the tender skin they’d dug into. “But what is this?” he asked, waving a hand at the gauzy garment. 

“It is an undersheath,” D replied as he sat up on the bed and reached up to push the cheongsam off of his own shoulders. It lay in a pool of silk around his body, as he nimbly began to unfasten the tiny buttons down the front of the undersheath. He never looked away from his human as he did so, and Leon found himself breathing heavily as anticipation surged through him. D’s eyelids fell over his eyes in shyness, as faint color swarmed up in his cheeks. His long black lashes looked like lines of ink against his porcelain skin, and Leon was enthralled both by his exquisite beauty and by this charming shyness that seemed so out of character for D - until one remembered that the young Kami was both just entering puberty and was also a virgin.

D’s hands slowed as he neared the end of the fastenings. Clearly he felt too embarrassed to continue. The human detective hid a smile as he leaned forward and gently lifted his mate’s hands away, bringing them to his mouth for a tender kiss. Then he replaced them with his own, nearly holding his breath as he pushed the gauzy garment off of the lovely Kami’s slim shoulders. His eyes ran greedily over the half-clothed form, and he winced a little when he realized that he could see D’s ribs. But he found his eyes fastening on the tiny, pale-pink nipples, already becoming erect under his hot gaze. “God you’re gorgeous, D,” he husked, just before he bent his head and closed his mouth over the Kami’s left nipple.

D cried out in shock and pleasure, his fingers tangling in the short blonde hair as his human mate lapped and licked at the sensitive nub. His back arched into these caresses, and his head tilted back as Leon’s teeth nibbled very lightly at the tip. Then the human detective began to suck strongly at the nipple, and the Kami writhed in his grip(for Leon’s hands had settled at his waist) and gasped wildly for breath. “Umm, Mmm. Leon!” D wailed, not believing just how good such a simple thing could feel. His hips lunged upward, and one of the human’s hands slid down to settle over the bulge at his groin and palm it as Leon continued to torture his nipple lovingly. 

Leon’s head slid sideways, his tongue leaving a wet trail on the silky pale skin of D’s bare chest. Then he assaulted the right nipple in the same manner, wincing a bit as the Kami’s nails sank into his scalp in a reflex action. This was both because of the feel of his human mate’s tongue on the rucked nub, as well as the feel of the strong hand rubbing over his still-clothed cock. D was now making incoherent sounds, as he had lost both the ability to speak and the breath to do so anyway. He whimpered in a desperate plea, and Leon took pity on him. He pushed the Kami backward on the bed, laying his mate out like a gorgeous smorgasbord to be devoured. Which is what he intended to do. He gave a last loving lick to the hardened nipple, then slid backward a bit so that he could begin pulling the silk pants off of D’s body. He used one hand to lift the narrow hips as he slid the pants off and down the Kami’s legs, tossing them away onto the floor. He knew that D might complain about that later, but right at this moment he really didn’t care.

His jeans followed the pants, because he was in some pain by now. He sighed in relief as he threw them on the floor. Then he climbed back onto the bed to sit looking down at his mate for a moment, just enjoying the view. It was true that D was still too thin – the jutting hipbones and prominent ribs made his heart hurt just to look at them. But he knew that this condition would be soon rectified, and the lovely pale skin was healthy-looking. It stretched over muscles and bone in a dazzling white perfection that stole his breath. And the Kami had flushed from his upper chest to his forehead, a rosy-pink color that perfectly complimented the porcelain skin. Glassy eyes - one golden, the other purple – looked up at him from under the fragile-looking eyelids. The glossy raven-black hair was tousled now, strands of it sticking to the Kami’s cheeks. 

Just beautiful. His eyes moved down to once more look over the erection lying against D’s thigh. It was as pretty as the rest of him, and it looked good enough to eat. A wicked smile moved over Leon’s mouth. He was so looking forward to passing on the things he’d learned from Sofu. He bent over and licked once more at his mate’s nipples, but only briefly. Then he started downward, tasting the pale skin, finding it to be as sweet as the rest of D. His tongue left a moist trail over the quivering muscles of the Kami’s stomach and he dipped it briefly into a cute innie belly button. He heard a gasp and giggle above his head, and grinned as he relentlessly headed toward the cock twitching against D’s thigh in excitement. It was weird to run his tongue over smooth hairless skin as he came closer and closer to his target – he’d once had a girlfriend who shaved her private parts, but being shaved and actually having no hair at all were two different things. 

“Leon?” D said in puzzlement. “W-What are you…?” this question was choked off as a strong hand curled around the base of his cock, and then he shrieked in startlement and pleasure as the human detective’s mouth enclosed the head of his erection and began to suck at it. “Oh! Oh!!!” the Kami cried, his hips lunging off the bed. His hands flew out to either side, digging tightly into the bedspread as Leon’s head began to bob. His heels scored the red-and-gold cloth as his head flew from side-to-side. That mouth was so warm, so wet, taking him in so sweetly…he couldn’t believe it! And the tip of Leon’s tongue was doing the most amazing things, swirling and licking as the blonde’s mouth moved down the shaft, then pulled back again. 

The hand curled around the base began to stroke in time with the human’s rhythmic head movements. The Kami was far gone, swamped in a sea of ecstasy. Leon would have grinned if his mouth weren’t so full. This wasn’t as bad as he might have thought it would be, because of that embarrassing lesson with the wooden dildo. The flesh in his mouth was warm, and it twitched and jerked as he got down to work. Plus, there was the peculiar but interesting taste of the Kami’s pre-cum, which was like nothing he’d ever encountered before. It seemed both sweet and tangy at the same time, and he was discovering that he really liked it. He was careful to keep his teeth from scraping against the sides of D’s cock, and he used his tongue to caress the length of the shaft as he continued with the blow job. He found the hardness, sheathed in the soft foreskin, to be different but still very good. Of course if this had been any man but his mate, he knew that he wouldn’t have been enjoying what he was doing. But since it WAS D, he didn’t mind at all.

He loved the sound of the cries he was drawing from D’s throat, and the way that the Kami wriggled and writhed as Leon continued to pleasure him with his mouth. Using what Sofu had taught him as well as his memories of blow jobs that he’d enjoyed himself, Leon alternated bobbing his head with stroking the shaft, while he lapped and licked at the dark-pink tip. His unoccupied hand slid down to close over the tight balls nestled under D’s cock, and he rolled them between his fingers as he sucked strongly at the head of the Kamis’ erection. From the loud cries and the way that the testicles under his fingers were drawing up, he knew that D was close to coming. Of course he could feel that through the bond anyway. He decided to finish his mate off. He created a strong vacuum with his mouth, even as he squeezed the balls in his hand tenderly and tightened his fingers simultaneously on the base. D screamed as he jerked up off the bed one last time and came, his semen splashing out over Leon’s hand and his own stomach. The human had pulled his head back at the last moment, not yet being ready to swallow. He’d get around to that eventually, but not now. 

D lay panting on the bed, his brain trying to recover. Little shocks of pleasure continued to ripple through his body. Leon sat beside him with one hand rubbing tenderly over the skin of the white stomach, not caring about the semen splashed there in little white driblets. His other hand idly stroked his own cock, for he was rock hard and just about ready to come. Doing that to his mate had excited him almost unbearably, and getting to see and feel D come was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced. That was something that was going to spice up their love life for a long time to come, he thought as he enjoyed the feel of his own hand on his cock. He had to figure that it was just as good for the Kami to feel his pleasure as it was for Leon to feel D’s. 

Some awareness was finally returning to the parti-colored eyes. They blinked up at Leon as he smiled down at his mate. “So was it good for you?” the human said with a grin. 

D’s brows knit. “It was…very good, Leon,” he husked.

The human detective looked satisfied and rather smug. “Well, that’s good. Granddad is an excellent teacher I guess.”

“What?" D looked confused. “What do you mean, Leon?”

His human laughed outright. “I told you that he’d taught me a lesson. Well, that was it. He showed me how to do that to another man with my mouth. How to give a blow job, in point of fact. He wanted to make sure that I would do it right,” he winked salaciously as the Kami gaped at him in disbelief. “Guess I did, huh?”

D was turning a shade of red that went rather well with his hair and eyes, Leon thought as he suppressed his laughter only with difficulty. Embarrassment and horror were vying for space within his mate, and two slim hands lifted to burning cheeks as D closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at his grinning human anymore. He couldn’t believe that his grandfather had…he moaned, a sound of deep horror that made Leon snort as he struggled to keep in his guffaws. “It's okay, D,” he said when he could speak. “I mean I was embarrassed too when the lesson was actually going on. But he did teach me a lot, and now I’m glad he did. And you liked what he showed me, didn’t you?” his hand stroked soothingly over the Kami's glorious skin. “And look at it this way – at least I can show you how to do it so that he doesn’t have to.”

D shuddered at these words. He’d never even considered such a gruesome thing – but where else would he have learned the techniques that would please his mate? His grandfather WAS very experienced, after all. He whimpered at the very thought, and heard a deep laugh before he was pulled up off the bed into a pair of cradling strong arms. “Don’t worry about it,” his mate’s voice said in his ear. “I’ll be happy to pass on the lesson, so you’ll never have to have the TALK with Granddad. I know exactly how I’d feel if I had to have it with MY granddad. So relax, my sweet D, and let Leon take care of you,” he felt a kiss on his ear, and he finally opened his eyes to look up into the gorgeous pair of blue ones in his human’s handsome face. 

D felt an upwelling of powerful emotion within himself. His love for Leon Orcot seemed to treble right at that moment. That the human detective had endured the embarrassment of being taught how to pleasure another man with his mouth, rather than making D suffer through the same lesson with his own grandfather...he turned a bit in his human’s arms, sliding his own around the powerful broad shoulders as he continued to look deep into eyes the color of the sky at noon day. “Thank you, Leon,” he breathed, just before he kissed his mate to show his gratitude. Their mouths mated, and Leon felt a surge of anticipation rise in him once more. He couldn’t wait to show D how to return the favor. His cock was rubbing against the Kami’s white stomach as they kissed, and he felt like he could come at any moment. His fingers buried themselves in glossy black hair to hold D’s head in place, as he delved deeply into his mate’s mouth. 

He heard a loud jangling sound. It broke his concentration, for he’d been trained to respond to it like a one of Pavlov’s dogs to a bell. He lifted his head, making the Kami look up at him questioningly out of languid multi-colored eyes, and gently set his mate away from him. “That’s my phone,” he groaned, “I have to answer it. Just a sec,” he slid away off the bed, groping for his jacket where his cell phone rested in a pocket. He pulled it out with a growled oath(under his breath, since D didn’t like foul language) and flipped it open. “Yeah? Orcot here,” he said. 

His brows drew together, and his lips thinned in anger as D watched him listening to whatever the person on the other end was saying . “Where? How long ago? Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he closed the phone, looking over at the Kami with a resigned expression on his face. “I’m sorry, D,” he said apologetically. “But I gotta go. There’s been another murder,” he added, as a chill slipped down the Kami’s spine at his grim words.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another gruesome murder. Can Leon and D find the killer before it strikes again?

Leon practically backed out of the room. This murder was actually worse than the last one had been – the walls of the living room were liberally splashed with blood, which was drying in long streaks. The killer, displaying a sense of humor that was morbid to say the least, had put the eyeless head on top of the fireplace mantle. The hollow eye sockets stared down at him obscenely. Gouged and gnawed pieces of flesh were scattered about the room as though they’d been thrown there casually. As though the killer had strolled around the room, tossing ripped-off pieces of flesh onto the floor like another man would have discarded a useless bit of trash. 

Leon shut his eyes, shuddering faintly. He used his bond with D to steady himself, holding onto the Kami’s far more serene feelings to keep himself from losing it altogether. “So it's only been about two hours?” he remarked to Jill in a normal tone of voice, as though they were discussing the weather.

“Uh-huh. The coroner will be able to narrow the time of death down even more, of course. Although I feel really sorry for the guys trying to put this…” she stopped as she consulted her note book: “Richard Martins into the body bag. I wonder if they’ll get all of him?” she said callously. 

"That’ll be a chore,” the blonde detective replied grimly. “Are there any ties between this guy and the other one – Hesker?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said happily. When he looked questioningly at her, she pointed a finger in the general direction of the nearest pile of body parts. “This Martins guy ran a rare animal show. It displayed things like a snow leopard. He got most of his animals off the black market from poachers and whatnot. The PETA people and a few other groups have been trying to shut him down for years. Ivan Hesker was an importer of said rare animals – he sold a lot of them to Martins’ show, in fact. Not only is there a link, there’s a freakin’ highway between these two vics.”

Leon lifted a brow. “So. Do you think the PETA people killed them?” he asked dryly. 

Jill grinned. “I wouldn’t put anything past the most rabid PETA members, but I doubt it in this case. Unless some of them are mutants with claws. Which might be possible,” she mused wickedly. “The coroner did confirm that Hesker had claw gouges in his legs, Leon. I know you don’t like D’s theory, but frankly it’s the best one we’ve got so far.”

He frowned. “I really don’t want to admit it, that's true. I don’t want to have to chase after a fucking werewolf, for Christ’s sake. But after this last week my skepticism quotient is way down. I’ll believe in just about anything now, even little green men…”

She snickered. “Being bonded to a supernatural creature will do that to a man,” she agreed softly. 

He gave her a jaundiced look. “So where do we start looking for this werewolf? We can’t just wander around the city waving raw steaks around and calling ‘good doggy, nice werewolf’. All we’d get are packs of strays.” 

“Well, your honey bunny can help us,” she pointed out calmly. He looked revolted. 

“Honey bunny?!” he said in horror. “Please do not ever refer to D that way again, Jill. I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Spoilsport,” she pouted. “But my point is still good. It was Count D who set us on the right track in the first place. I bet he knows a good bit about the habits of lycanthropes.”

Leon hesitated. While he knew she was right, he wasn’t sure that he wanted to involve his new lifemate in this gruesome and dangerous situation. Seeing his expression, Jill squealed with glee and clapped her hands together. “Awww, that is so cute! You don’t want to ask him because you’re worried about him! It makes a fan girl’s heart flutter, I can tell you!”

Leon sighed. “We'll go to the shop and ask Sofu,” he said in disgust. “If he doesn’t know then we can ask D. I want him to rest as much as possible right now; he’s still pretty thin.” 

“Of course,” Jill murmured, her eyes agleam with a look that made Leon want to crawl under the nearest piece of furniture. He was never going to hear the end of this. She obviously thought this whole thing with D was utterly romantic and adorable. He shook his head as they left the crime scene. 'Why me?' he thought in exasperation.

 

 

Sofu smiled at his grandson. D had insisted on getting out of bed to bathe and change his clothing. Now he occupying one of the couches in the sitting room, drinking tea serenely and eating yet again. His grandson had always been beautiful, Sofu mused, but now he was simply glorious. He glowed, and his porcelain skin looked like polished marble. This was the way a Kami who’d completed their mating bond should look. He felt a certain amount of wistfulness, and perhaps just a touch of envy. Throughout his long life, he’d never found the person or being who was his own mate - so it was a bit hard to see his very young grandson already finding his. But he refused to give in to jealousy. He’d had the joy of his child and of his grandchildren, as well. What more could any Kami hope or wish for? And it greatly pleased him to see his grandchild so happy. 

Chris and T-chan wandered into the room. “Hello Chris, Tot-chan,” D said. “Would either of you like a cake?” he pointed to the silver tray on the table in front of him. 

Both the human child and the goat-boy brightened up, hurrying over to get their share of the bounty. 'Where’s Leon?' the blonde child asked, looking around.

“He had an urgent case to go to, but he should be back soon,” D replied. As Chris nodded in acceptance of his words, the Kami hesitated. “Christopher,” he said seriously, making everyone in the room look at him curiously.

The boy turned to look at him out of large eyes the same color as his brother’s. 'What?' he asked.

“I...your brother has decided to move into the shop with me,” D said. Understanding sprang up in his grandfather’s golden eyes as he went on soberly: “But if you don’t want to, I will understand. I don’t want to make you unhappy, Chris.”

The boy blinked. 'Leon wants to live here?' he said, glancing around the shop.

D nodded. His hands were twining in his lap a bit out of anxiety, because he really cared for Leon’s little brother. If the boy rejected the idea of Leon and himself living in the pet shop, the Kami would have to accept that. He bit his lip as Chris was silent for a moment. Then the boy continued hesitantly 'Where would I go?' he asked, his lower lip trembling. 

D hastened to reassure him as T-chan patted the boy’s back. “You would live here as well, of course. I would very much like it if you would. And I’m sure that Tot-chan and Grandfather would also love to have you.”

Sofu nodded. “Of course,” he said, as T-chan snorted in agreement. Chris brightened up, looking very happy. 

'Cool!' he cried, nearly jumping up-and-down in his excitement.

D relaxed, a small smile on his own face. “Then you don’t mind moving in here?” he asked, just to be sure.

Chris shook his head vigorously. 'I like it here.' he said.

“Wonderful,” D replied, meaning it. “You can have your own room, although if you like T-chan could sleep with you…” he looked at the goat-boy, who also brightened up. The two boys exchanged glances, sealing the deal. 

'Where would I sleep?' Chris asked hopefully.

Sofu rose to his feet. “I’ll show you,” he said, giving his grandson a stern look. “You remain here,” he said before he glided out of the room, followed by the two overexcited boys. 

The younger Kami relaxed back against the couch and drank his tea. Relief washed through him. He didn’t know what he would have done if Chris hadn’t wanted to live here at the shop. Leon was devoted to his much younger sibling; he would never have just deserted Chris or sent him back to his other relatives. Nor did D want that himself; he really did care deeply for the blonde human child who had spent so much time here at the shop with him in the last year or so. 

Suddenly. he felt an awareness of his mate. Leon was close by. Eagerly he straightened on the couch as the bells on the door rang. The detective and his partner had come into the shop. “Leon,” he called, pitching his voice to carry into the next room, but not shouting. Shouting was rude. Besides the human would know where he was through the bond, just as D knew his location. And indeed, the blonde detective did turn immediately toward the sitting room. 

“Hey, D,” he said as he pushed through the hanging beads. “What’re you doing out of bed? You should be resting.”

“Honestly, Leon, I feel much better,” D replied. “And Grandfather has forbidden me to leave this spot, so I assure you I’m getting plenty of rest,” his parti-colored eyes went to the amused-looking woman standing beside his mate. “Good afternoon, Jill,” the Kami said with his usual exquisite manners.

“Hi, Count,” she replied with a grin. “Leon told me all about this bond thing, and I gotta say that it's really great. Best thing that ever happened to this big lug,” she continued, punching her partner on the shoulder. 

He gave her an annoyed look as the shopkeeper said: “Thank you. Would you like some tea, Jill?”

“Very much,” she said, moving over to sit on the couch that Sofu had deserted. She plopped down on it and cut her eyes from Leon to D, telling him silently to snuggle up on the other couch with his new mate. He sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. But he also went and sat beside D without a quibble, although he didn’t pull the Kami up against his side as he might have if Jill hadn’t been there. 

D poured both of them a cup of tea, and Leon took his with a smile for his mate. Jill watched both of them avidly, and hid her own wide smile in her tea cup. The two men – or one man and a Kami, anyway – weren’t overt; they weren’t doing anything sappy. But that made it all the cuter, especially since it drove her partner crazy to be accused of being a romantic at all. Leon Orcot thought he was a man’s man, so having the fact that he could also be a sensitive, caring person pointed out to him made him practically go ballistic. Which is why she did it, of course. It was great fun to tease her partner, and now she had even more weapons against him. And just because she thought they were adorable, that wasn’t going to stop her from getting every ounce of entertainment possible out of this situation.

She cleared her throat after a moment, and the two stopped looking at each other and turned to her instead. She chuckled as she remarked: “We did come here for a reason, Leon, remember? The dead guy?”

“Uhh,” he blinked as whatever spell that had ensorcelled him was dispelled a bit. “Right. Where’s Granddad?” he asked D.

“Showing Chris the extra room he’ll be sleeping in. Your brother is very excited about the thought of moving in here.” The Kami replied.

Leon looked satisfied. “That’s great. But there’s something we wanted to ask him.”

D lifted his arching black brows in question. “Does this have to do with the murder of Mr. Hesker?” he asked shrewdly.

Jill giggled. “Give it up, Leon,” she said. “He’s waayyy smarter than you are.”

“Har de har har,” the blonde said in a disgruntled tone of voice. He shrugged. “Yeah, it does,” he said to his mate. “This murder was almost identical to Hesker’s, except that it was even more gruesome. And the guy who was killed ran a rare animal show. He got his attractions from the black market mostly, buying them from poachers. Ivan Hesker imported those kinds of animals. There’s a definite link between them. So why would a lycanthrope kill those two?”

The Kami looked surprised at his mate’s sudden acceptance of the theory that he had come up with at Ivan Hesker’s apartment. “Well,” he said musingly, tapping his lower lip with one long nail(which made the blonde stare very hard, and then look away hurriedly)in thought. “It could be that Mr. Hesker imported a very rare animal indeed – a lycanthrope that was still in Were form. If it was sedated it would simply appear to be a large, aggressive specimen of whatever species whose form it can take, instead of anything strange. He could have sold it to this other man, the one who was killed today. It would have woken up in a cage and would have been very angry. If weakened enough it would have found it impossible to change back into its human form right away. And most likely this gentleman kept the lycanthrope weak, since it would have been easier to handle in that condition. It would have become angrier and angrier, perhaps descending into madness. Lycanthropes cannot hold their animal forms for too long or they do go mad. Either that or they revert to a primal state, truly becoming an animal instead of being a human who can take on an animal shape. If it escaped from the show, it would have wanted revenge against those who had caged it. That might, in fact, have been its only imperative, since all logic and reason would have fled after too much time in its animal form. It would have remembered those who had caged it and would seek them out to destroy them.”

“That makes sense,” Leon said slowly. “But how do we catch a crazy lycanthrope? That’s a lot worse than having a real wild animal running around the city. It will still be smarter than a regular animal, won’t it?” he asked D.

The Kami nodded. “I’m afraid so. There might be one way to track this creature down however,” he added.

Leon stared at him. "How?!” he asked.

“I will simply ask Ten-chan to trace the lycanthrope by its scent. His nose is very good,” D replied.

“That weird fox thing?!” Leon blurted in disbelief. 

D shook his head. “Please do not refer to Ten-chan that way if you wish his help, Leon,” he said chidingly. “Ten-chan is fully capable of following a scent trail if he wishes. But he has to want to, and if you are rude to him he will lose all impetus to help you.” 

Leon blinked. “Uh, okay. I guess it doesn’t matter how we find this thing as long as we do. But how the hell are we gonna find silver bullets on short notice?”

“That is a folk tale, Leon. It is possible to kill a lycanthrope with more prosaic weapons,” D replied calmly. 

“Then if we can find it, regular bullets will work?” Jill asked hopefully.

The Kami nodded. “Although one or two will not do the job, for they are harder to kill than normal animals.”

“I’m fully prepared to pump as many rounds into this thing as it takes,” Leon said grimly. “So when can Ten-chan do the job?”

“I would suggest today, since the trail will be fresh. But the lycanthrope will have reverted to human form by now, and its scent will be completely different from the animal form. Ten-chan will most likely lose the trail if he uses the scent from the crime scene. I hate to say this – but he will need an example of both the animal form’s scent, and the human form’s as well.”

Leon looked disgusted. "And just how do you suggest we get some of this thing’s human scent? We have no idea what he looks like or where he is!” 

The Kami was not put off by his exasperation. He frowned a bit in thought. “You have a point, Leon,” he conceded. “So we shall simply have to wait for another week before acting. I’m sorry.”

“Why another week?” Jill asked. 

“Because that is when the moon is full. Lycanthropes can shift forms at any time, but during the days that the moon is full they HAVE to change. That is one part of the tales that is right. So Ten-chan will only need its animal scent during those nights, since it will not be in its human form at all.”

Leon sucked in a sharp breath. “But to have to wait a week?” he said. “What if it kills again before we can catch it?”

The Kami looked apologetic. “I’m truly sorry, Leon. That is the only thing I can think of.”

The blonde detective sighed but put his hand over D’s. “It’s okay, D,” he said. “I guess we have no other choice but to wait. But God, I hope that thing has exacted all of its revenge or we could be in a world of hurt.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon and D finally consummate their bond

“I think this is the last of it,” Leon said, setting down a packing box with a grunt on the floor of D’s (now their) room. He rolled his shoulders. “You wanna go through these and decide what's okay to have in here? I know that you don't always approve of my possessions,” he said teasingly to the Kami, who was sitting on the side of the bed watching his efforts.

Thin black brows arched in a supercilious manner. “I'm sure that your possessions are fine, Leon,” he replied primly. 

The blonde laughed. He threw himself down on the bed next to the lovely Kami, throwing his arm around the slender shoulders. He and Jill had had to spend the rest of their 'day off' yesterday working the newest lycanthrope murder, and so he hadn't been able to see his mate until late in the evening. And by then he was so tired and frazzled that he'd simply given his sweet D a long kiss before taking Chris home with him. He'd promised to spend all morning packing and moving him and Chris's stuff into the pet shop, since he had a partial day off today to make up for yesterday. His brother was happily unpacking his own stuff, with the help of an equally happy T-chan, in his new room right now. 

The Kami leaned against him, both men revelling in the warmth and closeness of each others' bodies. Tonight his new mate would share his bed instead of going back to his own apartment, and D was looking forward to that. He just liked to be close to Leon now, for the bond demanded a level of 'togetherness' that was much higher than a normal couple's was.

Leon nuzzled his nose into the Kami’s glossy black hair. “You smell good,” he murmured, and the warmth of his breath made D shiver faintly. He turned his head, opening his mouth, offering himself to the detective. Leon groaned softly just before he captured that sweet mouth in a long, deep kiss. His fingers tangled in the silky strands as he held D’s head still so that he could plunder his mate’s mouth. He coaxed the Kami’s tongue out to play and tangled them together as he drank in the beautiful creature’s muffled moans.

D was panting and glassy-eyed by the time that Leon disengaged their mouths. The blonde shuddered faintly at his expression. “D, honey,” he rasped desperately, “I gotta stop. I want you so bad right now, and I’m gonna lose it if I don’t leave.”

His mate blinked at him bemusedly. “Why would you wish to leave, Leon?” he asked in puzzlement. “We are a mated pair. We’re supposed to…” he trailed off, blushing faintly. 

“Yeah,” the human detective replied, trying to keep himself in control. “But you’re still not fully recovered, baby. I want to wait until you are,” his teeth were gritted as he said this, for he knew that waiting for even the week that Sofu had said it would take for D to fully recover was going to be pure hell for him. 

The Kami felt a burst of warmth at his human’s consideration for him - but he also felt hot because his body was becoming demanding. It wanted to truly finalize the bond by mating with Leon, and it wouldn’t be put off much longer. Yes, he was still thin. But his grandfather had been feeding him every two hours when he was awake, and he had already put on almost a pound. He gained weight as quickly as he lost it when his fast metabolism was fed properly. And he was ready. So ready that he could barely stand it. The Kami version of hormones would not be denied, especially since they were being strengthened by the bond. So he turned on the bed, and surprised his human mate by throwing his arms around Leon’s neck. 

“Leon” he said in a tone of voice that made the detective gasp a little, “Please. I want you, too.” He moved his mouth closer and closer to the blonde’s, the languid, sensual parti-colored eyes seeming to hypnotize the human. 

“D…” Leon trued one last time to argue, but he lost all rational thought when his mate pressed that slim body against his even as he settled his mouth over the detective’s firmly. Dammit, how could he hold out against this kind of innocent sensuality? Especially when it was obvious that the Kami wanted this as much as he did? He began to kiss his mate back once more, giving a soft sigh into that sweet mouth as he capitulated. His big hands spanned his mate’s slender waist, drawing him even closer as they kissed. D’s nails lightly bit into his shirt as the lovely creature clutched at his shoulders. The silk of the gorgeous red cheongsam that he was wearing rubbed against the front of the pull over shirt that Leon was wearing. 

Some rational thought actually returned to Leon’s brain however. He drew away once more, as his panting, puzzled mate looked up at him in bewilderment. “Sorry,” the detective said, pushing him gently away, “But I think it would be smart to lock the door. It does have a lock on it, doesn’t it?” he added as he got painfully to his feet. 

D collected his wits enough to nod. And he was grateful for that lock. As Leon went over to the door, he thought in horror of his grandfather or Chris walking in on them while they were…he’d be mortified if that happened. Once the door was secure, the blonde turned away from it and went over to fetch a white bag from the top of the antique lacquered dresser. The Kami looked at it curiously. “What is that, Leon?” he asked.

The detective grinned as he turned back to the bed. “Just a few things we’ll need,” he said, his blue eyes agleam. He reached into it as he came up to where D was still sitting on the side of the bed. He drew out a small black box, which he began to break open. The Kami’s brows drew together as the blonde pulled out a small, foil wrapped package from inside. He held it up between two fingers. “Do you know what these are?” he asked his mate.

D shook his head. “These are condoms,” Leon continued. “They’re a form of human birth control. Granddad said we should use some kind of birth control because you can get pregnant really easy now that we’re bonded. And I don’t know about you, honey, but I’m not ready to be Dad just yet.”

Comprehension filled the gold-and-purple eyes. D knew that Kami males could give birth, of course; his own father had had him that way. And of course Sofu had given birth to his own father. But he’d been so off balance, first from the denied bond and then the newness and overwhelming nature of the thing that tied him to Leon Orcot, that he had completely forgotten that he himself could get pregnant as well. He could feel inside of his own body how fertile he was now, how ripe for creating a new life. That was partially what this mating bond was about, the production of Kami children. But like his new mate, D knew that he wasn’t yet ready to be a parent. He was only just coming into puberty, after all; and moreover he had the bond and his new mate to adjust to. He was grateful that Leon had thought of something to prevent conception. “No, Leon, I am not ready as yet to be a parent either,” he agreed quietly.

The human nodded. “That’s what I figured. Plus,” he stuck his hand in the bag once more, “I got this,” he pulled out a tube from within, showing it to the Kami.

D took it from him, staring at the writing on the side. “What is lubrication, Leon?” he asked, looking up at his mate.

The human chuckled as he sat down on the side of the bed next to D once more. “Something that’s necessary when two guys go at it,” he said. At D’s puzzled look, he laughed aloud. “Trust me on this, baby,” he said as he put his arm around the Kami’s slim form. “It’ll come in handy.”

D was distracted from asking any more questions when Leon buried his face in the side of the Kami’s neck. A tongue ghosted over his skin, licking at the white skin, and D moaned even as his head went back a little. Strong hands went to work at the front of his cheongsam, and the Kami dimly thought that his mate had learned quickly how to undo the frogs. As Leon’s nose nuzzled at the edge of the high standing collar, his fingers finished getting all the fastenings open. He pushed the front of the cheongsam apart, his tongue dipping under the edge of the collar to stroke over the soft skin. D gasped, lifting his own slim hands to help get the tiny buttons on the front of the undersheath open as quickly as possible. Then the human was pushing both the red cheongsam and the undersheath off of D’s shoulders so that it pooled behind him on the bedspread. He shivered as warm fingers began to trail over the skin of his bare chest, his back arching into that touch. Leon nibbled at a still too-prominent collarbone even as his fingertips pinched pale pink nipples very lightly.

D was already lost. He made no demur when he was pushed down onto the spread, or when his pants were pulled off of his narrow hips in a single jerk. Nor did he chide his mate when the blonde tossed the pants onto the floor behind himself. Hot blue eyes raked over his body, lust burning in their depths. The human groaned even as he pulled his shirt over his head, then hurriedly shucked out of his jeans. He sighed in relief when his cock sprang free of the confining fabric and he crawled onto the bed to join the white beauty already lying there. He licked his lips a little, desire and anticipation mingling within him. All he wanted was to bury himself into that slender body, to feel that tight heat closing over him. And he could clearly feel the Kami’s desire as well. That turned him on just as much as anything. He descended on his mate like a ravening beast, his mouth kissing every inch of that exquisite soft skin.

D cried out as Leon’s mouth began to move over his skin. His fingers tangled in the short blonde hair, as he helplessly lifted himself off the bed to offer himself more fully to his new mate. That talented mouth reached one of his nipples, and he gasped as it laved over the peaked nub tenderly. “Ohh!” he cried, “Oh, Leon!” 

The human began to assault his nipples, licking and lapping at them, interspersing these caresses with small bites and nips. D squirmed and moaned desperately, writhing as those tiny sensitive nubs were stimulated over and over again. He had flushed a deep, dark rose color by the time that Leon finally lifted his head, looking with satisfaction at his stunning mate. D was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in the throes of passion. He stretched himself out so that he was half covering the slim body, and kissed the Kami once more. Their skin rubbed together sensually, and both men relished the contact. D could feel the hard thickness of his mate’s erection sliding over the skin of his stomach, and he deliberately lifted his hips so that he put more pressure on it. He loved the sound of Leon’s muffled groan in reaction.

The human detective tore his mouth from the Kami’s reluctantly. He began to lay kisses over the high cheekbones, then moved it down to suckle at one small ear. D made small noises, his body moving under Leon’s encasing form. His fingers spasmed on his mate’s broad bare shoulders. “Damn, you’re gorgeous” the blonde growled against his skin, beginning to move downward once more. D trembled a little as Leon’s mouth roughly kissed its way down his skin, laving briefly at his nipples again, before the detective slid downward to kiss his way down the jumping muscles of the Kami’s white stomach. 

His mate was approaching the place where he wanted – no NEEDED – the human to be. He lifted his hips pleadingly, trying to draw Leon’s attention to his neglected erection. His human chuckled, a ghost of a sound against his skin, before he moved his head down to engulf the twitching wand between his mate’s thighs. D nearly wailed as that warm, wet mouth closed over him, sucking with soft intensity. Leon’s strong hands caressed his thighs as the blonde head began to bob up and down. The Kami’s hips lunged up as he tried to push more of himself into his mate’s mouth, nearly choking Leon inadvertently. The detective used his hands to hold the Kami down, even as he swirled his tongue over the pink tip of the cock in his mouth. He winced a bit from the pain of fingernails biting into his scalp, as D buried his fingers in the hair on top of Leon’s head. 

D jerked and flailed, unable to move much because of the hands on his hips. His brain felt like it was burning up. He was going to come soon from that wonderful stimulation. He tried to warn his mate, to say anything at all; but he couldn’t. With a last wild cry, his whole body arched as he orgasmed. His human mate gave a choked cry as he was unable to jerk his head away, and his mouth was flooded with D’s semen. He swallowed involuntarily, finding the taste not as bad as he’d feared. It seemed as sweet as the rest of the Kami. He licked his lips a little as he lifted his head, looking down at the sprawled beauty panting on the bedspread. 

D was just coming back from wherever his mind went when he climaxed, when he felt hands pushing his legs toward his chest. He made a faintly puzzled sound, although truly he didn’t really care. He was too languid and relaxed in the wake of his orgasm to wonder what was happening. But then he gasped, for a slick finger had come to rest on the sensitive ring of tissue between the cheeks of his ass. It began to make small circles, and the Kami moaned at the feel on the sensitized tissue. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but it also felt quite good. That insistent finger continued to stimulate him, even as Leon bent his head and began to kiss his white thigh tenderly. “Relax, D honey,” he crooned gently to the Kami. “Take deep breaths.”

D did as he directed, although truly he wasn’t tense or scared. Not when he could still feel Leon’s desire mingling with his own returning lust, and he could see from his mate’s mind the nature of the act that would take place between them soon. When the finger breeched his body, he only cried out softly at the feel of it. It began to move slowly within him, and he lifted his hips slightly in rhythm with it. On the detective’s part, the feel of that tight, hot space was making him a little crazy. He couldn’t wait to get in there! But each time he wanted to speed up, he reminded himself sternly that this was D’s first time. He thrust his finger further in, and the Kami only squirmed and made sounds of pleasure. The blonde bit softly at the skin of the thigh nearest him, as he moved his finger in circles within his mate.

Preparing D was far easier than it would normally have been. Leon could feel what the Kami was feeling, so he knew when his mate was feeling pleasure or discomfort. He worked a second finger inside of that white body, scissoring them, feeling that D was a bit uncomfortable with the foreign feeling of being invaded and also stretched, but that he was liked the sensation nonetheless. His other hand slid between the Kami’s thighs, stroking the still only half erect cock back into life. He ran his thumb over the sensitive tip, even as his two fingers twisted inside of D. The Kami cried out, his head going back on the bed spread, his hips nearly gyrating. His fingers sank into the spread on either side of him, holding on for dear life. He bit at his lip, then cried out in a choked way as yet a third finger worked its way into him. The sting made him flinch, but Leon stopped moving them until he’d adjusted. When he finally relaxed, the human felt it through the bond and began to slowly and cautiously move them in and out. 

Leon could take no more. He was going to explode. “D,” he groaned, “D, baby. I need you. Can I…”

The Kami struggled to speak coherently. “Yes, Leon,” he moaned, “Please,” he lifted his hips at the same time, asking for what the human wanted to give him. Leon pulled his fingers free, reaching out a hand to fumble for the condom packet and the tube of lubrication. He tore the packet open hastily, sitting back on his heels so that he could slide the condom onto his cock. Then he lubed himself up hastily, groaning as his hand moved on himself. D watched him with glazed eyes, panting heavily. Leon moved between his spread legs, and he felt something begin to rub up against the twitching ring of muscle there. This felt good, and he nearly whimpered. He wanted something more. Then whatever it was moved more insistently against him, and he made a harsh sound as the smooth rounded head of Leon’s cock suddenly breeched the ring and slid into his body. The human froze, feeling the pain and the sickening sensation caused by the stretching that D felt. He waited, his hands kneading and caressing D’s thighs, his head bent. He wanted to thrust and lunge into the tight space taking him in so sweetly, but dammit he would not hurt his mate. 

D panted wildly, trying to adjust to the feel of the large thing that had been pushed into him. His half lidded eyes looked up at his mate’s face, seeing the way that Leon’s face was twisted as the human struggled not to move. He felt grateful that his mate was trying not to hurt him, and after a short time he lifted his hips experimentally. This wasn’t so bad at all. Leon groaned at his movement, and took it as a sign to push another inch of himself into the Kami’s body. D moaned in counterpoint, his back arching a bit. The thing inside of him just felt so big. His body quivered. He heard Leon talking, saying soothing, tender things, and those big strong hands caressed his skin. His internal muscles relaxed once more, and Leon felt it through the bond. They worked together until the human was finally fully seated within his mate. Then he stopped for the last time, leaning forward until his body was covering D’s. He set his hands on either side of the slender body, lowering his head until he could cover the Kami’s mouth with his own. He kissed D slowly and sweetly, taking his time, savoring being buried in the lovely white body at last. 

D had finally gotten used to having Leon inside of him. His legs twined themselves naturally around the human’s waist, and he made muffled sounds against his human mate’s lips. Very slowly Leon drew back a little, then thrust again. The Kami cried out, his arms going around the detective’s body, as he clung to the big human. Once again Leon moved his hips, beginning to stroke into the writhing white body under him. Each thrust made pleasure rise up even higher in the Kami, for the pain and discomfort had faded. Leon felt that, and picked up the pace. Nails raked at his back as he moved his hips faster and harder, and heels dug in at the small of his back. He took in each of D’s cries and pants for breath as he finally got to move as quickly as he wished. Then, on one inward stroke, he hit something inside of D. Both men made sounds of shocked, wild desire as the streak of intense pleasure that shot through the Kami’s body was echoed in Leon’s. The blonde angled his hips a little to see if he could hit that same place, and the Kami turned into a screaming, writhing mindless creature under him. He himself felt like a beast as he drove into the juddering, squirming body under him. Whatever the hell it was he was hitting within D, the feel of it was making both of them come apart. He gritted his teeth tightly together as he lunged into the Kami over and over, and D’s cock rubbed against the muscles of his stomach as Leon moved over him. 

With a last shriek, D climaxed violently. He became nothing but ecstasy, blinded and destroyed by pleasure. Feeling those muscles close tightly over him, and the wave of D’s orgasm breaking over him, Leon succumbed himself with a loud cry. His head went back, all of his muscles seemed to seize up, and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. 

D was a limp mass under him as Leon slowly opened his eyes. His brain felt short circuited. He never would have imagined that the sex act could feel this good. The aftershocks of both his own and D’s pleasure continued to run through his body. He leaned down and kissed the Kami’s flushed face tenderly, feeling an almost overwhelming sensation of love. Until this bond had happened between them, he hadn’t been aware that he was missing a part of himself. But now it had, and Leon Orcot felt whole and complete for the first time in his entire life.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D and Sofu have an unexpected visitor...

In a shadowy alley, something large stirred. A head lifted, sniffing at the air. Glowing yellow eyes peered out at the bustling streets of the large city it had somehow been brought to. It had no idea, in its muddled state of mind, just where it was or how long it had been here. Rage stirred within it at this thought, and it growled softly as it bared its teeth. It had already found two of those who had tormented it, had kept it bound and caged in its animal form until it could no longer go back to its other form. It had managed to transform half-way, but was now stuck in a half-animal, half-human body that was a frightening parody of both forms. And it was mad, its brain a whirling vortex of fury and insanity both. It barely had enough conscious thought left to ponder its fate, or to try to think of a solution to its dilemma. 

Beside it a pile of what looked like a discarded fur throwrug stirred. Two bright, dark eyes opened, and a head came up. Ears pricked, tongue hanging out, the throw rug revealed itself to be a small dog. It gave a yip, and the much larger creature turned its head to look at the beast. It sniffed the air, taking in the little animal's scent. It vaguely remembered the beast being in a small place where the first man had been, the first one that it had torn to pieces in its rage. Human flesh had tasted good in its mouth, and human blood had made a most satisfying drink. But that killing had caused the whirlwind to lie down for a short time, and it had become aware of the dog yapping furiously at it. It could have eaten the animal or just have left it in the apartment. But a very vague memory of having a pet similar to this one had caused it to snatch the tiny dog up and bear him away with it when it left the scene of its crime. 

The dog had been terrified of it at first, but over the last few weeks had calmed down and accepted his strange new master. He had barely been upset when it had returned from its second hunt covered with blood and reeking of death. The animal had merely licked contemplatively at his coat, the rough tongue tickling his fur. Most likely the beast was hungry again. It would have to find the dog something to eat soon. For now it ran its claws gently over the tiny head, and a plumy tail wagged happily at its attentions. The golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully, for enough reason had returned to it that it was starting to think about something besides revenge. The scents in the dog's coat, for example...one was the overlay of the human that it had torn apart. But there was another sweeter, more subtle scent under it. A strange, inhuman smell, and one it rather liked. It ran its tongue over its teeth as it contemplated this scent.

The owner of that odor might be able to help it to return to what it once been. It sensed that this being was some kind of magical creature, and one that was in tune with animals. It liked that scent. It thought perhaps that it would track down the owner of the odor and see if this being could somehow help it revert back to its humanoid form. Rising on all fours, graceful and powerful, it turned its head and growled softly to the dog. It communicated the fact that it was going to be moving, and moreover that it was going to go looking for the person whose scent was on the dog's fur. The tiny creature jumped to his feet excitedly, his tail wagging even harder than before. He liked the being that he'd been with up until a few months ago. A friendly, kind, gentle creature, who'd looked after all of the animals in the shop the dog had been at with loving care. Trotting proudly, his tail held high, the little dog led the way out onto the darkening streets of the city. The slithering, powerful shadow ghosted after him, keeping pace. Together the two creatures began their search for a certain pet shop - and also its owner.

 

 

“I'll be damned!” Leon exclaimed, then winced and jumped when D's nails closed in his arm. 

“Really, Leon, your language...” the Kami chided his mate. “You know Ten-chan, surely?”

“Yeah, but not like this!” the human replied, rubbing at his abused arm as he stared down at the creature that had always appeared as a ten-tailed white fox to him before this. The small man lounging back on the couch in the sitting room lifted a snow-white brow. 

“Humans,” he remarked dryly to D. “They see only what they want to see.”

“Christ, it talks, too! Oww!” the blonde cried, moving out of range of his mate's lethal nails. “Damn it, D, that really hurt!”

The Kami sighed as he glided over to sit down on the brocade couch across from the tiny white-haired man who was now looking at Leon out of amused dark eyes. “Of course he talks, Leon, just as you do,” D said to his human in exasperation.

“Well, how come I couldn't see him like this or hear him before?” demanded Leon.

“Because you didn't want to. Come, Leon, you have to admit that you didn't wish to know anything about the true nature of my shop,” the Kami pointed out reasonably.

“Okay. So how come I can see him now?” the human looked warily at the little fox man as he walked over to sit down next to D on the couch.

“There are two reasons,” the Chinese shopkeeper replied as he leaned forward to pour them both a cup of tea from the pot steaming on tray. “One is that you now have to accept the truth about my supernatural nature - and the other is our bond. What I can see, you can see. So because I see Ten-chan as he truly is, so can you.”

“Oh,” Leon scratched at his head absently. “I suppose that makes sense. Sorry,” he added apologetically to the little fox man. “I'm just not used to this whole thing yet.”

Ten-chan tilted his head. “Understandable. Any human mated to a Kami is bound to feel a bit of culture shock.” he twitched one of the enormous, upstanding ears that stood up out of his white hair, disconcerting the detective. 

“Uh, yeah,” Leon said. “So did D tell you why we need your help?”

Ten-chan nodded. “You wish to track down an animorph,” he said succinctly, then laughed at the baffled look on Leon's face.

“An animorph is someone who can change their form into that of an animal, Leon,” D said serenely in explanation as he sipped neatly at his tea.

“Oh,” the human said again, feeling like an idiot.

Ten-chan giggled. “I can find this creature if I have a good scent trail,” he noted. “Do you have anything that carries traces of its odor?” he asked the human detective.

Leon shook his head. “Actually, Jill and I intend to sneak you into the last crime scene,” he explained. “The scent'll be about a week cold, so do you think that you can still...”

The small creature snorted. “It will not be a problem,” he sniffed. “I could follow a strong enough scent even if it were a hundred years old.”

“Great. D said we had to wait a few more days so that this guy will have to change into the animal form he was wearing when he killed Martins. That way you'll only have to follow one scent, not have to try to follow two different ones.”

Ten-chan rubbed at the bridge of his narrow nose thoughtfully. “Hmm. That is assuming the creature managed to transform completely back into its human form after being so long in its animal one,” he commented.

D lifted his brows. “What do you mean, Ten-chan?” he asked.

The little fox man waved one hand negligently. “A Were who has been too long in animal form may simply not be able to transform back into human completely, but may become stuck in between one and the other. I've seen this happen. It was a long time ago – an Emperor had caught and caged a Weretiger for his own pleasure, not knowing that the creature was anything but a large, impressive specimen of the tiger family. It finally managed to get loose from its cage, and slaughtered dozens in his court before it escaped entirely. I came across it hiding in the forest. The poor thing was neither man nor tiger, but a tragic amalgamation of both forms. It begged me to kill it, as it had no way to either go back to being a tiger again or resuming its human form completely either.”

“So what happened?” Leon asked.

Ten-chan lifted his snow-white brows superciliously. “I killed it, of course,” he replied severely. “I could not leave the sad creature to suffer anymore. I did it a favor, and it spoke its gratitude on its dying breath.” He paused, scratching at one of his enormous ears. “My point is, that this were might be in the same situation. And if it is stuck in a half-way form, I will need only the scent of that form to trail it. So we will not need to wait for the full moon after all, but could start the hunt as soon as you can get me into this crime scene of yours.”

Leon's blue eyes lit up. “That's great news,” he said fervently. “Just let me call Jill and tell her,” he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed his partner's number. 

D frowned a little as he took another sip of his tea. He tried to stifle a feeling of anxiety, but he didn't like the thought of his new mate going out to track down such a dangerous creature. His fingers spasmed on his china cup at the thought, and he looked down to conceal his expression from both Leon and Ten-chan. But he couldn’t hide his feelings from Leon, who was quite clearly picking up his fear. The human detective turned to look at the Kami's glossy bent head, trying to come up with some reassurances for D. He couldn’t not go on this hunt however. They had to catch this crazy shapeshifter before it tore somebody else apart. He knew that D was aware of this fact as well, which is why the Kami was trying to conceal his anxiety. 

“Yeah, Jill? Listen, this is Leon. We might be able to move tonight on this werewolf thing. Ten-chan says that our guy might be stuck in a sort of half-human, half-animal form. And if so he only needs the scent of it that way and he can track it. I think we should probably wait until full dark, though, cause we don't want to be seen breaking into Martins’ house so he can get a whiff of the killer's scent.” he listened to the excited reply from his partner, then nodded. “Ten-chan and I will meet you in front of Martins’ house in about an hour. Bring your whole arsenal – and a cannon if you have one.” he hung up the phone, seeing how tense D's shoulders were. He turned to look at the waiting Ten-chan. “Uh, could you give us a minute?” he asked, cutting his eyes from the fox spirit to his mate. 

“Of course,” Ten-chan slipped off of the couch and padded away into the shop to talk to Sofu, who was once more manning the counter. 

Leon sat back down beside D and pulled the Kami into his arms. He buried his nose in the raven black hair as he let his hands stroke soothingly down his mate's back. “It'll be all right, D,” he said softly. “But you know we gotta do this. That werewolf guy is just too dangerous.”

“I know, Leon,” the Kami replied, clinging to him. “But we have only just bonded. If something happens to you...” 

The blonde slid his hand to cup the back of his mate's neck tenderly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, honey, but don’t I get your ability to heal fast as part of this whole package? So even if I get hurt it'll just heal up right away.”

D shook his head, trying to blink away tears as he met the detective's eyes. “If you get killed, Leon, nothing will save you. Not even our bond,” he said miserably. 

The human lifted a hand to cup the Kami’s cheek. “Well, I'll just have to try not to get killed then,” he said firmly. “Because I’m really looking forward to the next thousand years with you,” he kissed D, trying to comfort his mate with his lips and tongue and hands. He felt the Kami respond through their bond, felt the beginnings of desire. But unfortunately he didn't have time to pick D up and sweep him away to their bedroom to have his wicked way with his new mate. He pulled away at last with a sigh. “Trust me, D,” he said, his thumb stroking one porcelain cheek.

The Kami looked him steadily in the eyes. “I do, Leon,” he replied simply. “I do.”

 

 

Sofu looked up when his grandson emerged from the sitting room. The older Kami meant to close down the shop soon, and go into the back to see about the animals. He'd seen Leon and Ten-chan leave a short while ago, and the fox spirit had told him just where they were going and what they were going to be doing when they got there. So it didn't surprise him to see how anxious his poor grandson looked. He could think of nothing to say to comfort D, for his grandchild would simply have to get used to being bonded to a homicide detective for however long Leon Orcot chose to go on being a policeman. And since it was a dangerous occupation, he would also have to get used to worrying. 

“Hello, child,” he said gently. “I was just about to close and go feed the animals. Would you care to join me?” it was the only thing he could think of that might take D's mind off of fretting for awhile. 

D nodded. “I would like that, Grandfather,” he replied quietly. “It has been too long since I've attended to my friends. They must think that I’ve deserted them.”

“I'm sure they'll understand,” Sofu said comfortingly as he rounded the counter to put the 'closed' sign on the door. “Most of them have mated as well. It won't be hard for you to explain such a concept to them.”

D laughed softly. “You have a point,” he agreed. “And we should put Chris and T-chan to bed as well.” the two Kamis glided away toward the back of the shop, turning off several of the lights in the front room as they went. 

 

 

Ten-chan sniffed at the room, wrinkling his nose at the nearly overwhelming smell of blood and body fluids. But underlying those was a musky, animal odor that could only belong to the killer. There were human elements to that smell, as well, which told the fox creature clearly that his theory had been right. The Were creature was stuck between human and animal, unable to go in either direction anymore. The two human detectives watched him hopefully, and at last he looked up at them. “I have the scent,” he told them. “I was right, the animorph is trapped in a halfling form. I can easily follow this trail.”

Leon looked relieved. “So we just follow you, right?” he said. “On foot?”

Ten-chan barked light laughter. “Yes, unless you wish me to try to keep up with your car,” he said sardonically. “Hopefully,” he added, eyeing Leon, “you're in good enough shape to keep up with ME.”

The blonde eyed his tiny body and short legs. “You're kidding, right?” he said.

The fox creature grinned, displaying long fangs. “We shall see,” he said. “We shall see.”

 

In the darkness, the creature moved through the shadows. It and the dog had arrived at a place of much color and light, and the people walking the streets were mostly Oriental. It sniffed at the air, crouching in yet another alleyway. The furry little beast was excited; he had figured out that they were close to the place where he'd originally come from, before he went to live with the human that it had killed. He was practically bouncing on all four little paws, and had to struggle not to yap excitedly and draw attention to them. It coiled its muscles, preparing to move again. It would use the shadows at the base of the buildings, and the fact that there weren't as many street lights here, to go unseen. It flowed away, and the tiny dog kept up with it by running alongside of it like a small furry shadow. 

Not half an hour later, the small animal gave an excited bark as he stopped. The dark eyes were fastened on the shop across the way. His ears were pricked, and his furry body quivered. The were hunkered down as it stared at the darkened building. This was the place! The place where that scent came from. It would find that being and try to communicate its misery. Surely someone who smelled that wonderful could help it. It was desperate, and it had nowhere else to turn. It ghosted across the street, light as thistledown, the little dog pattering after it, and curled its hand-paws awkwardly around the handle of the recessed door. It pulled, but the door was locked. It growled softly, savagely. It needed to get in! Exerting all of the force in its powerful muscles, it literally ripped the door off the hinges. Tossing the door away, it flowed into the room beyond. Here the scent was thick – it had come to the right place. The dog barked softly and bounded past it toward a hall leading toward the back of the building. It followed, letting its small guide lead it to the source of that smell.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D and Sofu confront the killer Were.

A/N: Thought i'd put this up so as not to leave everybody in suspense. This will be the second to last chapter of this story. I'm thinking of doing a aequel about Sofu. Anybody interested?-DL

 

Ten-chan sniffed the air. The small fox man was standing in the middle of the crime scene, and his nose twitched as he took in the mingled scents. He blinked his large eyes as he turned to look at the two waiting detectives. “Yes, I have it,” he said. “It’s pretty distinctive and quite strong. I’ll be able to follow it easily.”

Leon looked relieved. “So where to?” he asked.

Ten-chan pointed to the still open door. “Outside. I’ll sniff around among the bushes until I pick it up out there.”

The two detectives went with him as the small creature padded out the front door. Jill looked very calm and relaxed, which shouldn’t have surprised Leon. She hadn’t even turned a hair when she’d seen the fox spirit as he really was, and had merely looked Ten-chan over curiously. Not that she’d been able to see him really well, since they couldn’t turn the lights on in a house where the owner had just been murdered. Both of them had brought small flashlights, but Ten-chan didn’t seem to need one. Looking at those huge eyes, Leon supposed he could understand why. 

Outside, the small white-haired man snuffled about on the lawn and in the bushes until his ears suddenly went erect and quivered a bit. “Got it,” he said softly. “We go that way,” he pointed to the right down the sidewalk, and the two humans followed him as he trotted away quickly. 

It didn’t take Leon long to understand just why Ten-chan had made that remark about the two detectives being able to keep up with him. Ten-chan maintained a steady pace, slowing only to sniff the air occasionally, and Leon was soon huffing and puffing a little. He really needed to work out more, the blonde thought. It annoyed him that Jill was jogging along without seeming to struggle at all, her running shoes slapping the concrete. But he knew that she ran every morning before she came to work. He resolved to start doing the same, or going to the gym, or anything else that was physical exercise. For now he jogged along beside his partner, letting Ten-chan lead them unerringly onward.

 

 

Having put the children to bed, Sofu and D went into the back and began to feed the animals, as well as look after their other needs. The two Kamis worked in companionable silence, only occasionally talking to one of the animals in a tender tone that they seldom, if ever, employed when they were speaking to human beings. As D leaned over to pick up the ceramic bowl in one cage so that he could change out the water, all of the animals in the shop suddenly went insane. Squeals, chirps, barks, and cries filled the air as agitated animals began to run around their cages in terror. Startled, D straightened up and turned to look at his grandfather. Sofu also looked taken aback. But before either of them could try to calm the animals down and find out what was wrong, the hair stood up on the back of their necks as a soft, low growl rumbled through the room.

They turned almost as one to look at the doorway. There was a high-pitched yap, and a small bundle of fur darted into the room to throw itself on D’s legs enthusiastically. “Cheng Tze?” the Kami said dumbfoundedly, staring down at the little dog with wide eyes. But then he lifted his eyes again as a shadow within shadows suddenly moved, and a truly enormous creature glided into the room at the little dog’s heels. 

The two Kamis stared at this invader. It walked on all fours, on arms that were nearly as long as its legs. The massive body was twisted and malformed, covered in a sparse coating of dirty white fur. The fur had black spots scattered here and there. A stump of a tail switched back and forth agitatedly, and the face – the face was a horrible amalgamation of animal and human. Two insane golden eyes stared at the frozen Kamis from under a ridge of a brow. It held out a hand/paw pleadingly, and the mouth opened as it struggled to talk intelligibly out of what was effectively a muzzle. “Help…me,” It grated, somehow managing to make itself heard and understood.

D came out of his trance at these words. He heard his grandfather exclaim in horror and pity, as they both moved almost as one to try to aid the poor Wereleopard that had appeared to beg their help. Carefully both Kamis approached the creature, speaking soothingly to it. “We’ll do what we can,” D crooned, holding out a hand. “Don’t be afraid. Just let us touch you.”

The wereleopard stiffened but struggled to overcome its instincts and madness both, as it let the two magical beings walk up to it and touch its coat. It snarled a bit, but didn’t move as they ran their slim hands over the tragic creature and sent their magic into its body to see what, if anything, they could do to help it either resume its animal form or its human. One or the other, rather than this pathetic in-between state. There was silence in the shop for a moment, for the animals had fallen quiet so as not to attract the attention of the huge predator in their midst. Then D sighed, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at his grandfather. 

Sofu shook his head slightly. He had discovered the same thing that D had – there was nothing they could do. The Were had simply been in this form for too long. There was no way for them to help it transform in either direction. Sadness was in D’s parti-colored eyes as he lifted his hands away. They both stepped back, and D spoke to the poor lycanthrope. He tried to speak clearly, calmly, and logically to the creature, knowing that in its crazed and confused mental state it would be volatile. “I’m so very sorry,” he said, “But there’s nothing we can do.”

It stared at him blankly, trying to hold onto its sanity enough to understand him. Then anger tightened the muscles of the hunched shoulders, and a furious growl trickled from between its teeth. Clearly it thought that they were lying to it, and insane fury was churning up in its breast. A maelstrom was swirling behind the golden eyes. The Kamis retreated, both getting ready to flee. D continued to speak to it, trying to calm the rage rising in its mad brain. “Please,” he begged desperately, “I speak the truth. There’s nothing we can do. Our magic isn’t capable of helping you transform; you’ve been in this form too long.”

The wereleopard wasn’t interested in hearing this. Its muscles bunched, and it prepared itself to spring. Snarls rumbled out of its throat. It darted toward D, displaying an amazing turn of speed, cutting the Kami off from the door. But before it could attack him, its head jolted back a little from a spinning kick that Sofu aimed at it to turn its attention from his grandchild. This diversion worked, as it turned on the older Kami instead. Before Sofu could retreat it lashed out with the long, wicked claws on its hand/paws and raked them across Sofu’s abdomen. The Kami cried out in agony as he was nearly disemboweled by this casual swipe, his hands clutching at the wound as he fell to his knees. 

“Grandfather!” screamed D, making the were turn its attention to him again. 

“Run, child,” gasped Sofu, hunched over himself as a spreading red stain leaking from under his fingers. 

“No,” D refused to bolt, leaving his grandfather to the attentions of the mad lycanthrope. He stood his ground as it began to slide toward him, tensing his muscles as he prepared to fight for his life. Fear was rising within him and he reached out desperately for his mate’s strength as the wereleopard closed on him. 'Leon' he thought, just as the Were sprang at him. 

 

 

The human detective came to sudden halt. “D?” he said, as a wave of panic ran through him. “D!”

“What is it?” Jill asked, concern on her own face when she saw his expression. Ten-chan had stopped and whirled around at his exclamation, and was staring intently at the blonde. 

“It’s D! Something’s wrong at the shop!” Leon cried. He looked around desperately, for they were blocks from his car. Even if he ran, he might not get back there in time for him to get to the shop and help D. 

“What?” Jill asked, but he ignored her. 

There! A guy was getting into his car not far away. The detective ran over to him, pulling out his badge. “This is a police emergency!” he barked. “I need to use your vehicle!” 

The man started to protest, but one look at Leon’s face made him scramble out of the car and passively hand over the keys. “We’ll bring it back later,” the blonde snapped as he started to get in behind the wheel.

But a hand on his arm stopped him. “Let me drive,” Jill said. He hesitated, but finally handed her the keys. He knew that she was in better shape than he was to drive right now, with the waves of fear and pain coming at him from D. He stumbled over to the passenger’s side while Ten-chan pattered past the startled driver of the car. The man apparently had enough Sight to be able to see the fox spirit’s true form, and he gaped at the little man as Ten-chan hopped in the back seat of the car. Then the car drove away in a squeal of tires, leaving him standing on the street staring after his swiftly departing vehicle.

 

 

D screamed as the lycanthrope’s teeth closed in the forearm that he’d thrown up to protect his throat and face. The teeth bit into his arm, sinking into the muscle. Agony swamped him. He panted as the glaring golden eyes met his, and clawed hand/paws reached for him. Despair washed through him. He was going to die, and Leon would die with him. He fought against the creature’s hold on him, but he wasn’t as strong as the enraged wereleopard was. The claws curled, about to tear into his flesh….

There was an angry yelp, and a tiny ball of fur ran fearlessly up and sank its teeth into the tender skin at the back of the wereleopard’s right back leg. The lycanthrope jumped, making D gasp in pain as the teeth in his arm tore the muscles even more, but then the Pekinese began to bark at the were creature. It looked baffled for a moment, and abruptly some kind of sanity returned to its golden gaze. It opened its mouth, releasing D’s arm, shaking its head as it struggled to think. The little dog ran in circles around it, still barking, and the sound seemed to help it to concentrate. 

Blinking, confused, the lycanthrope peered at D. The Kami was holding his ravaged arm with his good one, pain twisting his face. Guilt ran through the wereleopard as it realized what it had done. It had attacked that wonderful magic being that it had smelled on the dog’s coat, and had almost killed the being. Yes, the being had said that he could not help it – but what reason remained in its mind told it that if there was anything that could have been done, this being would have done it.

It struggled to speak again. It held its paw/hands out to D. “Please,” it moaned, “Please, kill me.” It couldn’t stand to live this way anymore, and if there was no hope…

D began to weep, tears running down his porcelain face. He knew that its request was the best thing, but he still felt grief for the wretched creature. It had done nothing to deserve its fate. He nodded, still crying. “I will,” he said. “I will set you free.”

It relaxed as relief coursed through it. The magic being was going to help it after all, even after it had attacked both of the magical beings without provocation. “Thank you,” it ground out, preparing itself to die. 

D tried to call up his magic, but too much of it had been diverted to try to heal his mangled forearm. Despair rose up in him again. What was he to do? But before he had to think of anything else, a familiar voice cried out behind him: “Get out of the way, D!"

He did so, instinctively, whirling away as Leon fired at the lycanthrope. Jill’s gun also went off a moment later. The blonde aimed at the center mass of the lycanthrope's hunched body, going for the heart, while Jill went for the head. Bullets slammed into the wereleopard, making it jerk. Its golden eyes were peaceful, however, and it spread its hand/paws wide as though in benediction. These humans were simply giving it what it wanted. A bullet smashed into its skull, and the light went out of its eyes. It flew backward, its massive body sprawling on the floor motionless. It twisted a few times in its death throes, then was finally still. 

“D!” Leon whirled away as soon as he saw that the lycanthrope was actually dead. He ran over to his mate, who was hunched over his wounded arm. “Are you okay, baby?” he rasped anxiously.

“Not now,” the Kami replied hoarsely, “But I will be. Grandfather!” he cried, his own eyes lifting to search out Sofu D. 

Leon turned at his exclamation, seeing the older Kami still folded up with his hands to his abdomen. The detective hurried over and knelt down next to him. “Granddad? Talk to me. Do you need to go to a hospital?”

A pained chuckle startled him. “No, Leon, I do not need your human medicine,” Sofu said. “I will mend. How is my grandchild?”

“He’s hurt too, but he says that it’ll heal,” Leon replied. 

“Excellent. Is the poor Were creature dead?”

“Yeah,” the blonde scowled at him calling that crazy thing ‘poor’. “It’s dead.”

“Ahh. A pity that we could not help it.” Sofu lifted his head, and the detective saw how pale his face was. 

“You sure you’re gonna be all right?” he asked, his hand hovering over his cell phone to call an ambulance. 

A small smile flickered over Sofu’s face. “I assure you I shall. It will simply take a few days. In the meantime, if you wish to help you could bandage the wound. And lend me a hand to go to my room.”

To his surprise, Leon picked him up in his arms as though the Kami weighed nothing. “You’re not walking to your room,” the blonde growled. “Jill, would you get some bandages? And help D? We’ll bandage his arm too,” he added, carrying the slim Kami out the door and down the hallway to his room. 

Jill and D exchanged glances. The Kami smiled, still painfully, but with pride glowing in his eyes as well. His mate was such a caring person. Still holding his wounded forearm, he let Jill help him from the room. He took her to the kitchen to fetch some bandages that he kept there in case any of the animals were injured, and then they made their slow way to Sofu’s room. Leon had lain the slender man down on his bed, and was carefully pulling apart the tattered front of the cheongsam to bare his abdomen. The detective winced when he saw the wound. “You sure this is gonna heal naturally?” he asked anxiously. 

Sofu nodded serenely. “Yes. I’ve had worse,” he added, making Leon give him a distinctly disbelieving look. He hid a smile as his grandson and Jill entered the room. 

The two humans got the Kamis bandaged, taking extra care with Sofu. Once the bandages were wound around his abdomen, Sofu almost immediately fell asleep. He could control the pain with his magic, and he needed all the sleep he could get to recover. Leon helped his mate to their room and got D tucked in with a kiss to sleep as well. Then he went back to the shop with Jill, and stood looking down at the corpse lying on the floor. “So just what the hell do we do now?” he asked with a scowl. “It’s not like we can call the meat wagon to come and get this thing. How would we explain this?” he waved a hand at the malformed body.

Jill sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know.” She replied.

“Leave it to me,” they both jumped a little as Ten-chan appeared out of the shadows, followed by several of the other creatures. “We shall dispose of the Were’s body.”

“How?” Leon asked.

The fox spirit shook his head. “Do you really want to know that, Leon Orcot?” he said coolly. 

The blonde blinked. “Uh, no. Not really,” he said uneasily.

Ten-chan nodded. “Then go, and leave it to us.” The two humans exchanged glances, then left the back room together. They were followed by a whining, miserable Cheng Tze, the little animal’s body drooping with grief. Once they were in the hallway, he sat down and tilted up his head, and a mournful howl rang out as the little dog grieved for his friend.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And a happy ending is had by all...

A/N: Last chapter! Anybody who wants the sequel to this speak up now, or forever hold your pieces! :P -Dl 

 

A week later both Kamis were in the sitting room, sipping tea and watching as Chris and T-chan wrestled on the floor not far away. They smiled as both the blonde boy and the goat-boy pretend-growled as they played. D delicately picked a chocolate truffle from the china plate sitting on the low table between the couches. He nibbled at it as he studied his grandfather’s face. The older Kami was looking much better. His wound had healed almost completely, leaving only a faint set of red lines that would soon fade. D’s arm had also healed, and he’d regained most of the weight he’d lost during the time that his mating bond had been thwarted. 

 

A faint blush reddened his cheeks at this thought. Leon had developed the habit of making sure he was gaining weight – and the way he did this was by making a minute inspection of D’s rib cage and hipbones. Generally with his mouth. He’d sketch each rib with his tongue, making the Kami shiver at these touches on his sensitive skin. Never mind the fact that he’d now gained back most of the weight – he wasn’t going to object if Leon wanted to continued this little ritual indefinitely. 

 

Sofu saw the color rise in his grandson’s porcelain cheeks and grinned to himself behind his cup. He had a good idea just what the younger Kami was thinking about right now. And who, as well. He sighed a bit to himself, for watching his grandchild bill and coo with his new mate was leaving him quite envious. He thought it was time to find himself a new lover, for he’d been without one for long enough that his body was becoming demanding. He would look around, but the truth was that he was quite picky. Most humans weren’t worthwhile – he required an exceptional one if he did take a human lover. But there were other species, of course, and since they were near the ocean perhaps he might cozy up to a mer person… 

 

His golden eyes danced at this thought. D saw this, and started to ask him what was so humorous. But before he could, the beads rattled as a small dejected ball of fur drooped his way through them. A miserable whine issued from the throat of the unhappy little dog, and Cheng Tze looked at them all out of sad dark eyes. The poor thing was still mourning for the tragic lycanthrope he had befriended, and in spite of the fact that he understood what had happened (the Kamis had made sure to tell him), he was still grief-stricken. 

 

The two boys left off their antics and hurried over to comfort the dog. Both had taken a liking to the depressed Pekingese, feeling sorry for the unhappy little animal. They stroked his fur and murmured gentle words to him, trying to make him feel a little better. Sofu and D were both pleased at the boys’ compassion, and they left the two to try to comfort the dog. Cheng Tze always seemed to perk up a bit when Chris and T-chan petted and made much of him.

 

It looked as though the shop itself would have a permanent pet, D thought to himself as he sipped at his tea again. It would be cruel to Cheng Tze to try to get another master for him when he was like this. And the boys would love it, since they clearly adored the tiny ball of fur. The only person who might object was Leon, since the detective didn’t like yappy little dogs. And depressed, miserable yappy little dogs were even worse. But the Kami was also aware that his mate would put up with the furball for D’s and his brother’s sake both, so the Chinese dog would most likely be staying for good. 

 

Speak of the Devil, as the humans said. The beads rattled again, and a tall blonde human shoved through them. D’s parti-colored eyes lit up on seeing his mate, and Leon grinned at him. “Hey Granddad. Should you be out of bed?” the human demanded, looking at Sofu worriedly.

 

The older Kami hid his smile behind his cup again. He found his grandson’s mate’s solicitousness quite amusing. “Yes, I feel much better, Leon,” he assured the detective. 

 

The blonde shook his head. “I’m just not used to you guys healing so fast,” he commented. He looked down to where the two boys were kneeling down petting the dog. He rolled his eyes a little. “Hey, Chris. Got a hug for your brother?” he held out his arms, and the boy deserted Cheng Tze temporarily to hurl himself into his big brother’s arms as though he hadn’t seen Leon for a week instead of just this morning. 

 

'Hi!' the boy chirped, looking up at his brother’s smiling face. 

 

Leon tousled the boy’s blonde curls. “I brought you something,” he said, patting the pocket of his jacket tantalizingly.

 

Chris’s blue eyes lit up. 'What is it! What is it!' he cried.

 

“Oh, I dunno. Just something I thought you might like…” Leon’s hand curled into his pocket and extracted a package of Gummi Bears. 

 

Chris was practically jumping up and down when he saw them. 'T-chan! Look what Leon brought!' he exclaimed excitedly to the goat boy. 

 

T-chan also heartlessly abandoned the Pekingese for something more interesting. Seeing two sets of begging, hopeful eyes turned up to his, the detective grinned and held the bag out to Chris. His brother grabbed it, said 'Thank you!' and scurried away out of the sitting room with T-chan and a morose Cheng Tze at his heels. Leon watched them go for a moment, then made a beeline for the couch to greet his mate. He threw himself down and put an arm around D’s slim waist. 

 

“How’s your day been so far, D honey?” he asked as he nuzzled his nose lovingly into the Kami’s silky fall of black hair. 

 

“Quite good,” D replied serenely as he set his fingers on the blonde’s knee and stroked the fabric of his pants tenderly. “But better now,” he added as he looked deep into his mate’s blue eyes. They shut out the world for a moment, as they shared the intimate communication peculiar to a Kami mating bond.

 

Sofu discreetly looked away, for watching this felt too much like voyeurism. Yes, he mused, it was definitely time for him to find a new lover. He’d begin his search very soon. Yes, it should be VERY soon, he thought as certain parts of him reacted to the display of affection going on over on the other couch. When he got turned on just listening to his grandson and Leon Orcot, it was definitely a good time to begin the search for someone to warm his bed. 

 

Leon let his hand make circles on the silk of D’s cheongsam. “Hey, D,” he breathed into one small, shell-like ear. “You wanna go have some before-dinner fun, hmm?” and he blew hot breath into the same ear, making the Kami shiver as his body came violently to life. 

 

“Leon,” he gasped, squirming a little on the couch.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” the blonde stood up and held out a hand to help his mate to his feet. “We’re gonna go…ummm… 'clean our room,' Granddad,” he said to Sofu.

 

Sofu waved a slim hand at them both. “Of course. I shall make dinner tonight,” he added, as D gave him a grateful look over his shoulder. The determined blonde was already towing him from the room. 

 

Sofu smiled and finished his tea. D had his mate; Chris now had both his brother and the Kami as ‘parents’, as well as Sofu to act as a surrogate grandparent to him; and T-chan had his friend Chris around all the time to play with. All was right with the world – or at least their little part of it anyway.


End file.
